Update E71 with generic firmware

As much as I love my E71, it's not without its flaws. There is the occasional lockup or reset, plenty of bugs, and a few options that I can't believe it doesn't have (hierarchy of preferred access points for one). Another minor annoyance was that when I initially received the handset it was through Optus, and there were Optus brandings (splash screen, menu entry, bookmarks etc) that couldn't be removed. From time to time I had wondered if Nokia had any plans to update the firmware and address any of the bugs I've run into, and I would run the Nokia Software Update application to see if I was in luck. My most recent run showed that there still weren't any updates available, which the update check web page confirmed.

However, on the Nokia Europe software update page the latest E71 release was listed as version 200.21.118 when I was only on 100.07.76. It turns out this was because my handset had an Optus-specific product code (0567587), for which the latest update was not available. I assume this is because the operators are involved in maintaining their releases of the branded and restricted operator firmware through Nokia software update, which would therefore lag the generic releases, and I expect some carriers don't necessarily bother to release updates after launch at all.

So, to "de-brand" the E71 and upgrade to the latest firmware, it was necessary to change the product code and then upgrade to a generic firmware. The following process worked for me, though obviously be careful to backup your data and not run out of battery in the middle of flashing, since an interruption could brick your phone:

1. Download the NSS application. I installed Nemesis multi flash tool version 1.0.38.14 on a physical Windows XP machine, and when prompted for hardware selection chose the virtual USB device.


2. Make sure to backup your data using PC suite if you haven't already, and remove the memory card. You may also want to restart your PC after installing NSS.


3. Connect the phone and put it in PC suite mode. Run NSS, and hit "Scan for new device". Then change to the "Phone Info" tab and press the scan button. With any luck your phone will be detected. In the 'Production Data Edit' group you can then enable the 'Product Code' field and change it to a generic product code. I used the product code 0567045 for generic Euro E71 (English, Dutch, French, German & Italian), but you could use a different code for other languages or regions. Click 'Write' and wait for the status bar to report 'Write new values... Done'.


4. Now we can run Nokia Software Updater and perform the update. In my case I was able to update to version 200.21.118 - success!


5. Finish by entering the locale settings on the phone and then re-connecting it in PC suite mode. Start PC suite, reinstall the PC suite software on the phone, and then begin restoring your data, settings and applications.

So, has the updated firmware fixed any of the issues I was hoping it would? It's too early for me to tell at this stage... but at least it includes two new themes :)