Firmware update question (PH)

Posted by arvinsign
im confused..i bought a reconditioned mineral gray SE t68i (for my SUN CTU)at grinhills..the phone seems to be ok, except that the firmware is very old..and ive noticed some bugs

R2F004
prgCXC125319
R2F004

CDA102103/203
R2A

the phone is Orange branded..i guess the unit came from China because it was filled with stickers at the back bearing chinese characters.

I went to SEMICON SM manila to have a FW upgrade (R8). But the CSR told me that they dont accept units that are branded (Orange, Tmobile, ATT, O2) because a FW upgrade would make the phone unstable, or worse become a dead unit, because its configurations are different. ?????

now..is this really the case?
is there a way to get away w the Orange configurations (debrand)?
is there another option for my t68i to avail the latest FW?

many thanks for all the replies.