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  1. #1
    Karsten Wutzke
    Guest
    Hi all!

    I got my Z600 last week from an Ebay auctioner. Bad enough that there's
    a Vodafone button and a logo underneath the screen which you can't get
    rid of, unless you break into the Z600.

    What is even more annoying is the complete overhaul of the Vodafone
    logo/s and styles in software. You see their ugly red logo and styles in
    almost every menu, and there are some Vodafone custom settings, which
    you are prevented from deleting (ack!). The Vodafone CI in the main
    screen is especially disturbing, closely followed by the ugly
    red-cyan-gray-white colored non-original SonyEricsson icons in the main
    menu (along with the original WAP icon text replaced with some Vodafone
    live! marketed text). Besides the fact that whatever the settings, WAP
    will always connect me to the Vodafone live! page - another ACK!

    I contacted SonyEricsson support, if there is a way to restore the
    software side to SE's original factory settings, so that nothing from
    Vodafone remains, but there is no answer from them. Support? You call
    that support? Yuck.

    Now the question is:

    I heard about some kind of "brute-force" way to get the original
    software into the phone by kind of fooling SE. A friend of mine saw some
    kind of instructions/steps to follow which would make the software and
    thus the phone unusable. This would probably be a valid option. I would
    wait a few weeks, if I could somehow screw up my software, accidentally,
    of course, send the phone to SE and get it back "as it used to be"...

    So, what is the easiest way to get rid of this Vodafone crap in my Z600?

    TIA!
    Karsten

    PS: The Z600 and everything takes place in Germany




    See More: Z600: Getting rid of Vodafone branding (Germany)




  2. #2
    Dan Altemyr
    Guest

    Re: Getting rid of Vodafone branding (Germany)


    "Karsten Wutzke" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    news:[email protected]...
    > Hi all!
    >
    > I got my Z600 last week from an Ebay auctioner. Bad enough that there's
    > a Vodafone button and a logo underneath the screen which you can't get
    > rid of, unless you break into the Z600.
    >
    > What is even more annoying is the complete overhaul of the Vodafone
    > logo/s and styles in software. You see their ugly red logo and styles in
    > almost every menu, and there are some Vodafone custom settings, which
    > you are prevented from deleting (ack!). The Vodafone CI in the main
    > screen is especially disturbing, closely followed by the ugly
    > red-cyan-gray-white colored non-original SonyEricsson icons in the main
    > menu (along with the original WAP icon text replaced with some Vodafone
    > live! marketed text). Besides the fact that whatever the settings, WAP
    > will always connect me to the Vodafone live! page - another ACK!
    >
    > I contacted SonyEricsson support, if there is a way to restore the
    > software side to SE's original factory settings, so that nothing from
    > Vodafone remains, but there is no answer from them. Support? You call
    > that support? Yuck.
    >
    > Now the question is:
    >
    > I heard about some kind of "brute-force" way to get the original
    > software into the phone by kind of fooling SE. A friend of mine saw some
    > kind of instructions/steps to follow which would make the software and
    > thus the phone unusable. This would probably be a valid option. I would
    > wait a few weeks, if I could somehow screw up my software, accidentally,
    > of course, send the phone to SE and get it back "as it used to be"...
    >
    > So, what is the easiest way to get rid of this Vodafone crap in my Z600?
    >
    > TIA!
    > Karsten
    >
    > PS: The Z600 and everything takes place in Germany
    >


    I have a couple of suggestions/ideas:
    1) Don't buy a branded phone. Instead, pay a little more for a non-branded
    and non operator-locked phone. (Well, too late for that advice ;-)
    2) Try a total reset of the phone. It will probably not help, but it may be
    worth a try.
    3) Have the phone re-programmed at a SE service center. You will not get rid
    of the hardware modifications unless you pay a little extra for a new
    frontplate, but you will get rid of the vodafone menu add-ons, unless
    vodafone has some kind of special agreement with SE.



    --
    /Dan
    __________________________________________
    d a n (dot) a l t e m y r (at) t e l i a (dot) c o m





  3. #3
    A. Ebert
    Guest

    Re: Z600: Getting rid of Vodafone branding (Germany)

    Hi Karsten,

    to change the design, background etc.: have you tried to load another
    theme? Maybe there are only Vodaphone themes installed, but with a
    cable/infrared/bluetooth connection you can upload new themes into the
    phone. The complete style will change (don't know about the icons), but
    backgrounds, colors, menu etc. will change. A side I found in the net is:

    http://www.myt610.net/
    (I'm not responsible for the contents)

    The Z600 and the T610 are pretty close, so all (or most) tools and
    software for the T610 works fine with our Z600! In the forum it is also
    explained how to upload themes etc. I'm using the bluetooth connection
    which works really fine.

    You can also (manually or automatically) change the WAP, GPRS and MMS
    settings. This depends on your provider, some providers (search on their
    pages or give them a call) provide automatic settings for lots of
    phones. My provider is T-Mobile Germany, on their side I was able to
    find how to get this values by SMS for lots of phones. Again, you can
    use the T610 settings! Otherwise you have to change the settings by hand
    in the Connectivity sub menu.


    Achim.





    Karsten Wutzke wrote:

    > Hi all!
    >
    > I got my Z600 last week from an Ebay auctioner. Bad enough that there's
    > a Vodafone button and a logo underneath the screen which you can't get
    > rid of, unless you break into the Z600.
    >
    > What is even more annoying is the complete overhaul of the Vodafone
    > logo/s and styles in software. You see their ugly red logo and styles in
    > almost every menu, and there are some Vodafone custom settings, which
    > you are prevented from deleting (ack!). The Vodafone CI in the main
    > screen is especially disturbing, closely followed by the ugly
    > red-cyan-gray-white colored non-original SonyEricsson icons in the main
    > menu (along with the original WAP icon text replaced with some Vodafone
    > live! marketed text). Besides the fact that whatever the settings, WAP
    > will always connect me to the Vodafone live! page - another ACK!





  4. #4
    Michael Bauer
    Guest

    Re: Z600: Getting rid of Vodafone branding (Germany)

    Am Tue, 11 Nov 2003 09:35:08 +0100 schrieb A. Ebert folgendes in mein Tagebuch:

    > Hi Karsten,
    >
    > to change the design, background etc.: have you tried to load another
    > theme? Maybe there are only Vodaphone themes installed, but with a
    > cable/infrared/bluetooth connection you can upload new themes into the
    > phone. The complete style will change (don't know about the icons), but
    > backgrounds, colors, menu etc. will change. A side I found in the net is:
    >
    > http://www.myt610.net/
    > (I'm not responsible for the contents)
    >
    > The Z600 and the T610 are pretty close, so all (or most) tools and
    > software for the T610 works fine with our Z600! In the forum it is also
    > explained how to upload themes etc. I'm using the bluetooth connection
    > which works really fine.
    >
    > You can also (manually or automatically) change the WAP, GPRS and MMS
    > settings. This depends on your provider, some providers (search on their
    > pages or give them a call) provide automatic settings for lots of
    > phones. My provider is T-Mobile Germany, on their side I was able to
    > find how to get this values by SMS for lots of phones. Again, you can
    > use the T610 settings! Otherwise you have to change the settings by hand
    > in the Connectivity sub menu.
    >
    >
    > Achim.




    Dear NG :-)

    It's possible to change the background of the Z600-display (it's called
    Dispaly-Profiles; it can be found in the "pictures & sounds"-menu).
    There you can change the background -- backgrounds can be e.g.
    downloaded via http://www.sonyericsson.com/fun/www....icsson.com/fun

    BUT you can only change the background color -- NOT the icons itself!
    And that's the "bad thing" about this (the original Vodafone-logos are
    looking nutty...)

    HTH,
    Michael



  5. #5
    Karsten Wutzke
    Guest

    Re: Z600: Getting rid of Vodafone branding (Germany)



    Michael Bauer wrote:
    > Am Tue, 11 Nov 2003 09:35:08 +0100 schrieb A. Ebert folgendes in mein Tagebuch:
    >
    >
    >>Hi Karsten,
    >>


    >
    > Dear NG :-)
    >


    > BUT you can only change the background color -- NOT the icons itself!
    > And that's the "bad thing" about this (the original Vodafone-logos are
    > looking nutty...)
    >


    Yes, this is my point. I was able to change the theme and hoped the ugly
    Vodafone icons would disappear, but they don't.

    Any other idea?

    Karsten




  6. #6
    Richard Colton
    Guest

    Re: Z600: Getting rid of Vodafone branding (Germany)

    "Karsten Wutzke" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    news:[email protected]...
    >
    >
    > Michael Bauer wrote:
    > > Am Tue, 11 Nov 2003 09:35:08 +0100 schrieb A. Ebert folgendes in mein

    Tagebuch:
    > >
    > >
    > >>Hi Karsten,
    > >>

    >
    > >
    > > Dear NG :-)
    > >

    >
    > > BUT you can only change the background color -- NOT the icons itself!
    > > And that's the "bad thing" about this (the original Vodafone-logos are
    > > looking nutty...)
    > >

    >
    > Yes, this is my point. I was able to change the theme and hoped the ugly
    > Vodafone icons would disappear, but they don't.


    You'll have to wait until the firmware leaks out from official channels,
    then pay someone to flash the phone with unbranded firmware and have GDFS
    reset.

    --
    >>> Unlock Your Phones Potential <<<
    >>> http://www.thephonelocker.co.uk <<<
    >>> http://www.uselessinfo.org.uk <<<






  7. #7
    Nick
    Guest

    Re: Getting rid of Vodafone branding (Germany)

    From what ebay seller did you get it from? I'm after one as well but I
    certainly want the Vfone logo on the case.

    Nick






  8. #8
    stewart.tte
    Guest

    Re: Getting rid of Vodafone branding (Germany)

    Have a look on Howard Forum. The was nice trick on there. "Flash reset"
    it resets the machine and opens up the memory.
    Stew





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