[GUIDE] Step by Step Guide for Upgrading P3400 and P3400i ROM + FAQs

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Hello Everyone!

This is a step by step guide for unlocking the SPL of your HTC P3400 or P3400i.Please read and follow everything given here carefully and you will have your phone unlocked within 15 minutes.

This is a step taken in order to minimize the accidental bricking scenerios happening almost everyday here.

The Guide is divided into 2 Parts, A FAQ section and the Unlocking Guide Section. I request you to please read all of this before doing any furthur steps. ROM Flashing can be very dangerous if not done properly.

Enjoy!

Frequently Asked Questions

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FAQ (Frequently Asked Question) Read Carefully Please

Q1. What is the basic information about my phone that i would need to get started with this process or for troubleshooting?

Ans. The basic information that you need is displayed on the white htc splash screen that shows up when you start your phone. This inludes:

ONBL version, SPL version, GSM or Radio version and OS version.

Apart from that, you will also need the serial number of your device. This can be found behind the battery on your device or on one side of the packaging box in which your device came.

An optional thing that may come handy is the version number of your ROM which can be found by going to Start > Settings > System > Device Information. Look for the ROM Version there.

Q2. What is SPL, Why it needs patching, and what are the things i need to keep in mind?

Ans. SPL or Second Program Loader is a part of your phone's firmware. Its responsible for both loading of operating system and it is also used by operating system for some low level tasks. By Default, HTC and Other Manufacturers too, design it in such a way that it does not allows custom ROMs to be flashed in the phone. It does no by checking for the Digital Signature of HTC on roms. So it need to be patched in order to flash custom ROMs made by chefs in this forum.

There are two SPLs available right now for P3400 and P3400i. One is Olipro's SPL for Old Gene and Second is Orefkov's SPL for New Gene. These should be used according to the device they are meant for. Using wrong SPL can make your device dead.

One more thing is, SPL is needed to be updated just once. Only one of the given SPLs will work for you and you will never need to patch it again. This is true for those situations too when you flash a rom and your phone does not boots past the White HTC splash screen. In that case too, As you have just flashed an incompatible ROM, you just need to use another, compatible ROM to get your phone back. NEVER UPDATE YOUR SPL ONCE IT IS PATCHED BY EITHER OF THE METHODS

Q3. How can i be sure which version i need to use, i am not sure whether i have an old gene or new gene?

Ans. Earlier it was being thought that one can differentiate between New Gene and Old Gene on the basis of Onbl and Serial Nos. But this has not found to be true as evident from many cases of bricking.

One of the possible checks for knowing that is if your phone originally came with Windows Mobile 5, its probably an old gene, and If it came with Windows Mobile 6, its probably an New Gene. However, this is also not a concrete basis to decide the version of SPL.

So i recommend to follow these steps, These should work for any Gene without problem.

1. Use the Olipro method first. It will work properly if your device is an old gene.

2. If it fails and your phone becomes dead, just follow the instructions for using Gene Unbricker for new gene and your phone will be back again. This way, your new gene will be flashed with Orefkov's method.

Q4. Are there any precautions that i need to take when selecting a ROM for flashing to my device?

Ans. Yes, there are indeed some things that you need to keep in mind before making mind to flash a ROM.

1. Make sure your SPL is patched, ie. On boot screen it should have either SPL 1.10.Olip displayed in case of an old gene OR SPL 1.07.Oref in case of a new gene. If it is not, patch it using the Guide given below. If it is, dont ever try to patch it again.

2. After patching your SPL you will become sure that whether your phone is a new gene or old, because of knowing the version of SPL that worked for you. Now, never choose a ROM which is not built for your phone. Only use ROMs appropriate for you phone. And if you ever accidently flash a ROM of wrong version, dont panic. Just flash another ROM for your version and your phone will be back.

3. In general, never try to downgrade your ROM. Means if your original ROM was WM 5 and you upgraded to WM 6 or 6.1 Dont try to downgrade to WM5. This is specially true for WM 5 because of reasons i'll explain later.


Q5. Why is it not recommended to downgrade the OS version, ie. moving to a previous ROM version?

Ans. There is no problem actually in doing so. But there are some situations that needs to be taken care of. What happens is, Somtimes, the previous version of Original ROMs from htc, contain the older version of SPL that is very specifically made for that version of ROM.So if you flash this ROM, your SPL will again become locked. This is specially true for original WM 5 ROMs

In case your phone came with WM5 originally, and the version of ROM exactly with the one that was originally on your device, It wont give any problem. But if this ROM is not exactly the version your phone originally came with, this will brick your device and you'll have to take it to service center. No homemade solutions works then.

Even bigger problem arises when your phone came with Wm 6 originally and you try to downgrade it to WM 5. This will certainly brick your device and force you to take it to service center. SO DONT EVER TRY TO DOWNGRADE A GENE TO WM5 IF IT ORIGINALLY CAME WITH WM 6.

ROMs created by users here do not contain the ONBL, SPL and GSM parts (dont worry about the names). These only contain the OS part which is safe to use.

Q6. What are the things i can try if i get a problem while this process?

Ans. You shouldn't get any trouble if you take all the precautions, but even if you do, you can try :

1. If your gene is bricked by Olipro SPL, use the gene unbricker for new gene by Orefkov.

2. If you flashed your phone with a ROM made by some user on this forum and it doesn't works, just flash another version of the ROM or some other compatible ROM. NO need to touch anything else.

3. If you downgraded/Upgraded using any of the Original HTC ROMs and your phone is bricked, try the JTAG Method by Orefkov. Search for it, you'll easily find it. If even that doesn't helps, Take your device to service center.


Q7. What is bootloader mode, and how do i enter it?

Ans. Bootloader mode is a special mode which is use to flash ROMs. Bootloader is the part of your phone's firmware that kicks in even before SPL and initializes it. You may need to enter this mode while patching your SPL or sometimes while flashing a ROM. To do that, Shutdown your phone, Press and Hold the Camera Button and press the power button or the soft reset key using your stylus. This will take you to a 3 colored screen with your Onbl and SPL version displayed on it. This is called the Bootloader mode.

Q8. What is Hard Reset and Soft Reset and how to do it?

Ans. Soft reset is a second name for restarting your phone. It can be done using power button too but sometimes, when the phone is hanged, it needs to be done by pressing the soft reset key, situated in a small hole near the mini usb port you use for charging and headfone, using your stylus. Your phone will restart immediately without any harm. But if you have any unsaved data, like an open, edited word file or a text message half written and not saved, they will be lost. But all your saved data is safe.

Hard reset is something that needs to be done when there is some problem with the phone that is not being solved using any standard method or restarting the phone. This method erases all the files and data in phone memory (not SD card) and makes your phone as it came new from factory or just after a fresh ROM upgrade. You'll loose all your emails, calender items, Todo list, sms, contacts etc. But most of the problems get solved using this. So before using this, backup your PIM data using utilities like PIM Backup by dotfred etc.
To do a hard reset, shutdown your phone, Press and hold the two soft keys (the keys above the call accept and call reject keys) and press the reset button using stylus. A black screen will appear warning you about the consequesnces. Press the Green key (call accept key) to start the process.

The Step By Step Guide

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The Step By Step Guide

CAUTION: DO NOT UPDATE ROM OF A PHONE THAT IS SIM LOCKED. THE RESULTS ARE UNKNOWN BUT MOST OF THE TIMES IT PREVENTS YOU FROM USING THE PHONE ANY FURTHUR!!

If you like to backup your existing rom first, follow this guide by Ankit360 to do it : http://forum.xda-developers.com/show...8&postcount=20

Step 1: Download the Tools
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Download the tools zip file from here:

http://www.4shared.com/file/81084740...ing_Tools.html

Its a self extracting file, just start it and give a path and it will unzip all the files in your chosen folder. Inside the extracted folder you will find these things:

1. SPL Updater : Inside it there are 2 folders, Olipro and Orefkov. These contain the two SPL patchers that we need to use.

2. ROM Update Utility : This contains the ROM update utility we will need to flash a ROM. Unzip it into a folder.

3. USBDriver4ActiveSyncVista : This contains a special driver for Windows Mobile Device Center in Vista that you need to use to successfully update your ROM. Unzip it in a folder too.

4. Download a ROM appropriate for your device: Which one is appropriate, you'll only know after updating your SPL. So do this step after that. But in any case, here is a link to a good ROM, created by me, which is available for both new and old gene:

Sumit's Pro Users ROM (WM 6.1, for new and old gene)

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=467796

Step 2: Preparing your phone
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1. Copy the file gene_hspl.exe from the SPL Updater\Olipro folder that you got in step 1 to the phone memory.

2. First, on your phone, Go to Start > Settings > Connections > USB to PC. Here, uncheck the checkbox : enable advance nerwork functionality. Click OK. Disconnect and Reconnect the USB cable to your pc.


Step 3: Prepare your Computer (Please pay attention, this is crucial!)
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XP Users
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There is not much you need to do. Just open task manager and kill the Active Sync executable from the processes tab. Its named as wcescomm.exe.

Vista/Windows 7 Users
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You need to take these steps :

1. Go to desktop, right click Computer, and select Manage. Go to Device Manager. Now under the section Mobile Devices, Double Click : Smartphone USB Sync.

2. On the Drivers tab, click "Update Driver..." button. On next screen click : "Browse my computer for driver software".

3. Click : "Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computers". Click "Have Disk.." on next screen. Click "Browse..." and go to the folder extracted in step 1. There, go to USBDriverforActiveSyncVista folder. Here select the file "wceusbsh.inf" and click OK.

4. Click Next and finish the wizard.

NOte : YOU NEED TO DO THIS TO SEE THE "USB" BUTTON IN MTTY WINDOW IN LATER STEPS. DONT SKIP IT!

Step 4: Use the Olipro method first.
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Open File manager on your phone. Go to the location on phone memory where you saved gene_hspl.exe. Tap on it to run it. Your phone will restart after a short pause.

Now there are two chances :

a) If its done alright, you'll see SPL 1.10.Olip on your boot screen and your phone will boot just fine. And it confirms that you have an old gene. You do not need to do Step5. Proceed to Step 6.

b) If it doesn't boots, and only green and red keys blink, Don't worry. Your phone is bricked but you'll get it back using orefkov's method in a minute. Proceed to next step. And this confirms that you have a new gene.

Step 5: Use the Orefkov Unlocker
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1. Remove the battery, SIM card and SD Card of your phone and press the Power key for 20 seconds to draw out any residual power from the phone.

2. Replace the battery but not the SIM and SD card, and don't start the phone yet. Press and hold the Camera button and then press the Power button or Soft Reset button. Phone will come to boot loader mode (tricolor screen) and SPL 1.10.Olip will be displayed.

3. Connect the USB cable. The text USB will appear on the bottom of the screen.

4. On PC, go to the folder Orefkov in the folder extracted in step 1 and run the Mtty1_42.exe. Press the button "USB" in the window that opened.

5. In the window that opened, type the following command (don't use copy paste please) and press enter:

set 32 1

You'll see a response from phone.

6. Type the following command BUT DON'T PRESS ENTER YET:

ls boot.bin

Note : that is small L and small s in that command, dont mistake it with I.

Now, hold down the Camera button on phone, and press the enter key on computer. After a while, the screen will become White. Continue pressing the Camera button for 10 more seconds.

7. Now release the camera button, close the MTTY program and run ROMUpdateUtility.exe in the same folder, not the one outside it. That one is for RAM flashing that we will use later. Check the boxes in each step and click Next Next and then at last Update. Let it finish the process. Your phone will restart.

8. Now on the splash screen you'll see the info with updated SPL version. The version of SPL will be 1.07.Oref.

Congrats! you have successfully patched your SPL.


Step 6: Flash the ROM
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Now let the phone boot once and then shutdown it. Insert your SIM card, but not the SD card. Go to the PC and copy the ROM file (it must be names RUU_Signed.nbh. Rename it if it has some other name.) into the ROM Update Utility folder that is outside the Orefkov and SPL Patcher folder.

Now press and hold the camera button and start your phone to go into the Boot loader mode once again.

Now Run the RomUpdateUtility.exe and follow her instructions. Please make sure that you are not running RomUpdateUtility inside the Orefkov folder in SPL Updater folder. You must use the one outside, in the RomUpdateUtility folder. Your phone will automatically go into bootloader mode and a progress bar will be displayed on both phone and PC. Once it completes, your phone will restart again and you'll get the phone with the brand new ROM.

Step 7 : Set your PC and Phone back to normal
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This step is only needed in case you are using Vista.

The driver we updated in Vista will not work for normal active sync operation. So you'll need to set it back to the original version. There are two ways to do that. Either, uninstall and reinstall the Windows Mobile Device Center Or Follow the same procedure gicen in Step 3 but instead on clicking the "Have Disk button", choose the driver from the list already given.

The driver that you need to install can be identified by have a newer version given in front of its name. Also, the newer driver's name includes "Microsoft Corporation" while the older one has only "Microsoft".


You can Put back your SD card now.

On your phone, again go to the Start > Settings > Connections > USB and check the checkbox there and click OK.

That's it! You are Done.

Credits

Thanks to these people whom work helped me greatly in writing this Tutorial:

Ankit360 for writing the original tutorial.

Olipro for providing the SPL for old gene.

Orefkov for providing the Gene Unbricker for New GENE.

Nevermind_me for sharing his real experience as an end user and help in updating the guide.

NEW BEE

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The info being provided is very informative,there is no way i can go wrong with these steps.hope it helps unbricking my phone.thanks to the people involved for making it happen.you guys rock.gonna try these steps will let you know if i got it rite.

your fellow new bee

I TRIED THE SUMMITS STEP B STEP GUIDE AT THE POINT WHER MMTTY PROG SUPPOSE TO MAKE SCREEN ON PHONE GO WHITE IT GIVES ERROR MESSAGE SOMETHING ABOUT CAN'T DOWNLOAD IMAGE,OR SOMETHNG

My P3400i SR8XX is OLD or NEW?

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Hi! Crazy & Ankit,
I am from Delhi and having P3400i with SR. HT8XXXX, onbl-1.17.000,spl-1.17.000,os-1.8.00.
In the past I have flashed several times of cooked rom by chayn & lomlom without changing to permanent HSPL. It was done by temporary CID unlock method as running jumpsp.exe while pressing and holding Camera+VoiceReco button and flashing. Presently we are using Vista Design build 20270 by Chayn and and still my onbl& spl displays 1.17.000.

Today I tried to flash Ankit M2D rom using previous method, flash completed successfully, device restarted but stuck on boot loader. Then i restore my Gene by RUU_Gene_hTC_Asia_India_1.17.720.1_4.1.13.34_02.79 .90_Ship and then flashed Chayn Vista Design 20270 which is working fine.

Please confirm whether my Gene is NEW or OLD as if it were NEW then Ankit's ROM Should work. Sorry for my bad english.
Thanks..........

Yours is an old gene i guess. Using Serial No, ONBL and SPL versions for recognizing your phone as a new or old gene is not reliable. chyan and lomlom's both have provided some excellent roms for both new and old gene so i cant say about that also. But ya, if Ankit's ROM is not working then yours is an old gene, i am 99% sure.

Thanks for your quick response to our query. Further, could you please advise me better ROM for me to Flash.

Also, I have created 1% increment battery dll and tested on my gene which is working fine. Is it possible to include it in your ROM.

@krazy
Oh Boy! Now we have an old Gene (3400i) with 8 series number and 1.17 onbl. Great going HTC !
Guess you have some really busy time coming up.
BTW:
Do you know typing? Better learn it soon .

What to say brother, HTC is just making things difficult, i guess they want to sell the higher end mobiles too. But i dont understand, apart from WinMo 6.1, their higher end mobiles have faster and greater hardware. So how come flashing a gene with WM 6.1 and Manilla 2D can affect their sales? I wont go for a P3400i if i had the money to buy a diamond even if both of them can/already have WM 6.1.

I know typing very well, you might have got some idea from the amount of text i post when i post a new rom I am ready, give it to me baby! Yeah! LOL!