Guide: How to change Sony Ericssson G900 to CDA Custom World1

Posted by hamish909
Guide: How to change Sony Ericssson G900 to CDA Custom World1

Want to flash your G900 firmware to the latest? Mine was R9L004, but is now R9M003. You need to change your CDA to Custom World1 (CW1) which is as follows.

Thanks to masterzombie from
http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/629090/+620
for getting me started and mut@ant from http://my-symbian.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=27899, but since I couldn't follow masterzombie's guide completely and mut@ant's is in Russian for the M600, AND due to the lack of G900 guides out there so I made my own guide hoping people will find it useful.

Why Custom World1?
Because the Custom World1 CDA always gets the latest firmware first. The CW1 CDA is 1204-3148

Files you need to install:
XS++ http://www.se-nse.net/gbrooks3/XS++/download.php
Hex Workshop http://www.bpsoft.com/downloads/

1. Switch off phone, take battery out and then it back in again.
2. Plug the USB cable to your computer
3. Run XS++, tick SMARTPHONE CONNECT and then press Connect
4. Hold down the C button on the phone, and plug in the USB cable to phone, release C when XS++ says "Ready for operation"
5. On the bottom of XS++, tick GDFS, then click on the button "Backup GDFS"
6. Once the backup is done, the XS++ activity log will say phone disconnected, just leave it at that for now
6. In the same folder were XS++ is installed, there should be a folder caled Backup - this is where the backed up GDFS .bin file is - makes copies of this and store somewhere safe - this is the original GDFS file you need to restore if anything goes wrong with your phone.
7. Open Hex Workshop, click on Options--Preferences--look on the right, under Columns, select the drop down box to '2 (short)'--OK
8. Open that .bin file, and scroll to the bottom.
9. Follow the instructions in these images:
10.

11.

12.

13.

14. Still in Hex Workshop once you've done all those changes, click Save as.. and save a filename whatever you click, but must end with .bin
15. If your phone has disconnected after the "Backup GDFS", repeat step 1-4.
16. This time, instead of "Backup GDFS", click [...] next to "Restore GDFS", find your edited .bin file, OK, then click "Restore GDFS". This should take a minute or two.
17. Once that is done, the activity log will say phone disconnected. Close XS++ and unplug the USB cable from the phone.
18. Take out phone battery and put it back in again, restart phone. If something is wrong with the phone, "Restore GDFS" with the original .bin file you first created.
19. Go check your CDA in Main Menu--More--System information, it should now have two CDA's listed, the original one and the new one you edited.
20. You are now Custom World 1 and you can do your SEUS update! Well done!

Let me know if I missed anything.

[ This Message was edited by: hamish909 on 2008-10-20 13:18 ]

Posted by ritche_m
thanks for the guide

Posted by cubensis
This does still not address the R2A firmware code convertion does it?

Posted by ritche_m

i changed my CDA to Generic World 1 (DPY) then updated my phone using SEUS.

details:
Phone: 1203-6566 R9N002
Bluetooth: 1200-5567 R1F02
Organizer: 1203-8784 R6K842
CDA: 1204-3148 R6K836

previous CDA: 1213-2204 R2A

Posted by kundur
Changed mine from 1213-2204 Singapore to Generic World 1 as well. Easy to follow guides, step by step. Finished up everything in about 45 min. Tried it only once. Now running 1204-3148 GW1 with latest firmware downloaded via SEUS.

Cheers

Posted by ardzuna
Thanks for the very nice tutorial. I was a bit reluctant to change my CDA but when I read today that a new firmware is available I did it without thinking twice. Now my phone is WG1 and I have the latest firmware.

Posted by golemsmate
i need some help guys when i follow the steps using HEX but when i try to use SUES it says idenification process failed and i cannot update when i restore old GDFS it is fine but cannot get the update because im not GW1 this is what i get on XS++:

"19:51:22| XS++ v3.1 (Darwin) Ready !
19:51:22| Executed on Microsoft Windows XP
19:51:30| Executing SEMC Smartphone Operations!
19:51:30| Please hold boot key ('@' or 'C') and connect device...
19:51:38| Master Port detected: COM29
19:51:38| Slave Port detected: COM30
19:51:39| Opening Port!
19:51:39| INIT MASTER...OK!
19:51:39| PHONE INFO SAMPLED...OK!
19:51:39| EPOC APPLET HEADER SENT...OK!
19:51:39| APPLET BODY SENT...OK!
19:51:39| SHUTTING DOWN MASTER...OK!
19:51:41| Baseband ID: 7100
19:51:41| Protocol Version: 3.1
19:51:41| NEW SECURITY PHONE DETECTED! SWITCHING...
19:51:42| Speed set to 460800
19:51:42|
19:51:42| Sending db2000_cid03_prodid_p3b.bin...
19:51:43| Applet ID: 070410 1354 NPACXC125871_DB2000_PRODUCTIONIDLOADER_P3B
19:51:43| This is a PRODUCTION_ID loader
19:51:43| Activating GDFS...
19:51:43| Warning: IMEI name does not match GDFS name (IMEI:NULL GDFS:G900)
19:51:43| ...using GDFS name
19:51:43|
19:51:43| Profiling EPOC smartphone...
19:51:43| Platform: DB2001
19:51:43| OTP CID: 52
19:51:43| EROM CID: 53
19:51:43| EROM Color: Red
19:51:43| IMEI: 35388602xxxxxx
19:51:43| Phone ID: G900
19:51:43| Part Number: FAD-3022019-BV
19:51:43| Phone smartphone version: R1A01
19:51:43| Phone software version: 1203-6566 R9M003
19:51:43| Processing Unit: 1203-6568 R5C01
19:51:43| Organizer: 1203-8784 R6J825
19:51:43| CDA: 1204-3148 R2A
19:51:43|
19:51:43| ... and the phone lock code is: 873289FF (only 6 digits)
19:51:43|
19:51:43| Ready for operation!"

I am also including some pictures of what i did in hex editor

Posted by golemsmate
O . M . G i've done it thank you very much!!! just gotta charge phone so it dusent run outa battery while updating ur a legend! easy to follow

Posted by abakomano
Thanks Allah i made it after shaking doing it. The story : i have latest customized singapore firmware R9N002 which included chinese support character. It is a little bit waste since i never use that character. I m from malaysia and start looking for support again and again on how to get GW1 = Generic World 1. They really don't care even SE Malaysia,Thorus (MAL) and even their engineer (i know one). ****Best thing happen,...(1) The font display so much better. ...(2) The on-screen keypad is so much nicer and clearer and no more additional (change english/chinese dialog box).****the tricky part....supposed the author tells us put the cursor to the start of specific character on the right pane and start typing the correct one..it took me long before knowing how to edit the char. Anyway this article is so so so helpful and straight forward and simple post. I love my G900 even more now. Thanks a lot you genius out there.

Posted by Phoebus

[ This Message was edited by: Phoebus on 2009-01-02 07:47 ]

Posted by strange
so after installing it, the phone will automatically update the latest versions?

Posted by ritche_m
after installing the Generic CDA, update your phone using SEUS!

Posted by choboness
hey guys i have singapore firmware, if i update using seus without changing to generic first will i still get the latest firmware? thnx

Posted by crowing
@choboness - you will get the latest update for the singapore firmware.

the point for changing firmware is you'll get the latest update for the g900 that is supposedly making the functions of the g900 optimal.. HTH

Posted by choboness
@crowing
thnx!

question, i've noticed on the guide that g900 with r9l*** are the ones being changed to cda then it becomes R9M***... question is, i already have r9m*** for the singapore firmware, and to update to the new one which is R9K***...what do i need to do? do i still have to change to generic? thnx for responses

Posted by Phoebus

[ This Message was edited by: Phoebus on 2009-01-02 07:46 ]

Posted by apolloa
Thanks for this guide, I've followed it and am now running World 1 firmware!! Fantastic, seems a bit faster but at least I can now get the updates SE release, if any.
Thanks again for the guide, works a treat.

Posted by cvbnm
can i do this on my HK SE G900?

my last CDA is (on hex workshop): 1207-8384..R14A...........Y (not yet edited)

and you can see that theres no letter next to the 2 dots after R14A the letter is far. wth should i do? i'v tried changing the value of y to the checksum 8-bit however it became a dot then after that i saved it and followed what the guide said then i checked my CDA (19. Go check your CDA in Main Menu--More--System information, it should now have two CDA's listed, the original one and the new one you edited. ) but then the CDA: (blank) its blank

Posted by DanqeR
if i follow this guide and modify the CDA to CW1, if my phone is locked in orange network... after the first seus update, the phone will be unlocked?
thank you

PS. Thanks for the perfect guide. I changed my CDDA to CW1.
But can you tell me how to unlock my G900 please?

[ This Message was edited by: DanqeR on 2009-01-26 11:59 ]

Posted by KU
I try it with my french CDA but it doesn't work at all (I have a R9M003 firmware version)

Posted by Rookwise
Excellent guide. My G900 is now recognised as Generic World 1. Updating via SEUS right now

Cheers

Posted by yzolli
hi
i get quite the same problem than cvbnm.
i have the SE G900 with HK CDA r14A.
when i modify the cda number and the cheksum and i restore on my phone.
the CDA number still the same as before in system information.
1207 8384 R14A.
how to change the CDA to the world wide 1.

Posted by Rookwise
You need to follow the guide exactly as described. Miss something out and it won't work. After using Hex editor and installing the modified bin file. You will notice you phone has 2 CDA's with the World 1 CDA shown first and the old CDA underneath. the World 1 CDA needs to be first so that the Sony Ericsson Update Service recognise's the phone as World 1. Once you updated the phone there will only be one CDA showing.

This message was posted from a WAP device

Posted by yzolli
i try 2 solution but always the same result in system info only one CDA.

but when i use XS++ the cda is 1204 3148 R14A

Posted by eidolonaria3
Can this process be done to change to an HK CDA, provided I use the values for the HK CDA which I found online:

1207-8384 Hong Kong Generic 1203-6566 R9N002 1200-5567 R1F02 1205-0647 R6K842 R14A 7.11.2008 7.11.2008

Does anyone know how to do this?
If there is any other firmware that allows the Chinese handwriting recognition? That's what I'm trying to get.

Posted by yzolli
nobody have the same problem as me?

Posted by dnalevy
Does anyone know if this procedure voids the warranty?

Posted by willy486
I changed the CDA, now I have 2 CDA's listed in the phone menu, but SEUS still says no update available?

Posted by AuSsIeBiGrOb
I've done all this, but SEUS says that my phone is up to date. I still have R6G804 firmware, so it's abvious that it isn't. What should I do? Same problem as the guy above

[ This Message was edited by: AuSsIeBiGrOb on 2009-04-13 12:20 ]

Posted by meckam
page not found on xs++ dlink

Posted by xaznownx
im having problems changing the cda, the cda that my phone displays is 1210-0066 r7a, but on xs++ is reads 1204-3148 r7a. Ive tried updating from SEUS but it says there is no update, heres some more info
Phone software version: 1203-6566 R9N002
Processing Unit: 1203-6568 R5C01
Organizer: 1205-0647 R6K842
CDA: 1204-3148 R7A
(this is from xs++)
i also have another problem with my g900, it started to lag like crazy and now it restarts everytime the backlight goes out, and i was wondering if anyone knew how to flash the firmware or os back to factory original, ive already tried master reset but doesnt help. plz and thnx to those who help ^_^

Posted by dwisdoms
What u need to do first of all is to restore back to ur original gdfs, then use seus to update, it'l probably tell u your phone is up to date, but choose to install anyway; this will rewrite the firmware of your phone.. this should fix the hanging thingy...but wont change your language settings...can anyone pls let us know why we cant seem to get past seus after using xs++ is it that seus have blocked it, would like to know how to go around it and also why it happens. peace

Posted by rdubbs

On 2009-04-17 10:37:35, meckam wrote:
page not found on xs++ dlink

If you are getting the page not found error on the XS++ link, check the url and make sure it has xs++ in it not xs[space][space]

Posted by jash12per
WIll this work on G700?? with the same procedure?...

Posted by jonas1
The images don't exist anymore. Does anyone have a backup?

Thanks!

Posted by jonas1
nevermind, the images do work. Imageshack probably was in maintainance.

Posted by strizlow800
Yeah the images work good...

Anyway I think it should work on the G700 as the phones are very similar. You know this may be considered as regular UIQ3 mod (as many are released)... and also most of the mods work on all phones - almost all of them.

So there are mods e.g. from p990 that work great on g900 and vice versa.

Give it a try I think it should work (if I'm not wrong). But MAKE BACKUP of the files you replace.

P.S> Worst that can happen imo is a dead phone and you would need an update firmware with seus.

Posted by louise_c

On 2009-03-30 01:38:43, willy486 wrote:
I changed the CDA, now I have 2 CDA's listed in the phone menu, but SEUS still says no update available?

i have the same problem. I also have to CDAs listed

CDA: 1204-3148 RK6**
1204-3152 RK6**

please help...

[ This Message was edited by: louise_c on 2009-06-19 21:18 ]

Posted by anuragsodhi
hi! phone became dead after restoring gdfs
*original gdfs is also not working

does the phone needs to be flashed using sues immediately after restoring gdfs??

Posted by Cutty
ive got a little problem...what if the numbers arent exactly the same?

and theres something else, after clicking generate, whats gonna happen? (can you give me a screenshot or something?)

[ This Message was edited by: Cutty on 2009-06-25 19:28 ]

Posted by Destro
thanks for this helpful guide

Posted by shadeybeep
I just can't get this to work! I am pretty sure I followed the instructions correctly. The software version on my phone is still 1205-0644 R6K839. When I run XS++ and backup the gdfs file again, it shows 1204-3148..R6K83 where it used to say the old number. So what am I doing wrong? The data in the .bin file I backup from my phone using XS++ shows the new cda number, but the phone still shows me only the old one. Is this even possible? How can the phone show me the old numbers when the gdfs file shows different ones? I am not even sure if the new numbers in this .bin file are correct. My .bin file was different than the example. The example in the guide showed only 3 characters in the second part of the cda version, whereas my phone has 6 characters. Plus, my .bin file doesn't have "000C" or "000D" which all the guides I can find seem to think it is supposed to have.

I can restore my old gdfs file (of course I saved a backup of the original), but that isn't going to get me any closer to updating to GW1. I'd rather not lose all of my data again if it isn't going to let me get the GW1 firmware anyway. I really want to remove chinese from this phone. Everyone says GW1 is faster, too ... I'd really like my phone to be faster.

I considered that it was possible I had to just reinstall the SEUS software, even though SEUS says I have the most recent version (maybe it will update to the new cda version anyway?), but SEUS will not give me the option of reinstalling the software. It just says that there are no updates available, and then I can either exit or update another phone.

I can upload my original .bin file if anyone wants to see it. If anyone can help me, I would be extremely greatful!

Kelly

Posted by engstedt
Epic nice WIN!

Thanks alot, worked like a treat after small fixes.

Got my phone from Hong Kong, but i live in sweden. So i couldnt use swedish language on it, neither was it possible to use exchange active syc cause of wrong organizer version.
Used this guide to change version of both cda and organizer version the i run the SEUS and after that when i started the phone i could choose swedish.

Fantastic!

Posted by avvake
Hi, those pics in guide no longer work. Anyone have alternative for it?

Posted by MinhChiHD
hey everyone, I did all steps completely.

Thank you for your support

Posted by Caspa
Nice one for this thread... My G900 has been playing up to the point that I have wanted to smash it up... Screen goes blank and it reboots easily 5 times a day - caused me to oversleep today too! It also is extremely slow and lethargic, doesnt respond to button presses and just freezes continuously...

Today I had enough and thought I'd try and flash it as a last resort (thought it was more the fact it was old and been a bit battered etc), found out that as its a Customised UK I have the latest software, so followed this guide and now I have a Generic World 1 handset with the latest software and at least for the time being - the handset is working properly and is unbelievable better than it was!!!

I think I may be able to cope with it for another couple of weeks until I get my new phone and line!

So big thank you to the author of this thread!

Posted by testea
IT'S GREAT INSTRUCTION.....

TOU'RE GENIUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by g900windows7
Is anyone tried this on windows 7,because FX++ cant read my phone,and how do I install flash driver on windows 7 when he always uses his own driver when I conect G900???

Posted by zamastak
G700 PROBLEM! NEED SOLUTION!!! Situation: After writen through SEUS there was a problem - now the my mobile does not determine WAP GPRS tuning and it is impossible to load no language! Did everything that was written, In HEX editor replace CDA - made in OLD VERSION, but SEUS talks that the last version of OS is already set.
Phone sysinfo: G700, Phone: 1203-6566 R9N002 Bluetooth: 1200-5567 R1F02 Organizer: 1205-0657 R6K842 CDA: 1204-3148 R8A 1211-4603 R8A

Posted by robin74
thank you for sharing, It is a great post.

Samaa TV Live

[ This Message was edited by: robin74 on 2011-01-13 06:26 ]