Nokia Software / Firmware Unbranding

I wrote this page to condense into one place the programmes needed to remove the branded firmware supplied on Nokia handsets, particularly in the UK, and return it to it's generic form. The branding of firmware often restricts functionality such as VoIP and re-maps some of the keys to promote your network's premium content. Attempting to do this myself I found some of the information confusing so i hope this will be useful. I know that people will want to be sure they have all the information to hand before they start, and it is important to read this guide completely before you begin.

I provide this service with no guarantees, every effort has been made to ensure that the information is correct but you perform this entirely at your own risk, I can not accept responsibility for any loss direct or otherwise. Back up your data first. 

The Principle

What You Need

The Actual Procedure

The Principle

What You Need

• Nokia Software Updater (NSU) also part of OVI suite
• Nemesis Service Suite

The Actual Procedure

Assuming that all of the above has been downloaded and installed...

• Backup your Data!!!! Note the pcsuite and other nokia backup solutions will regard your unbranded handset as different from your branded one. so you will only be able to restore the data that you could to another handset, calendar, contacts, bookmarks etc. You will have to change the settings yourself. Ovi suite may try to restore a recent backup. You must not allow it.
• Exit the PC Suite or OVI, (completly including the tray app,) if it's still running
• Connect your phone (if you haven't done this before you will have to wait for the drivers to install)
• Launch NSS
• Click 'Scan for new device', upper right of window
• Click 'Phone Info' then 'Scan'

• Enter the new product code discussed below
• Check 'Enable'
• Click 'Write'
• The phone's product code is now changed, it only takes a second and there is no note to say it is done.
• You may confirm this by reconnecting to NSS and using the read button. (As has been done in the picture)

You now simply have to close the open programmes and run the NSU or update in OVI, i've not included instructions on running the NSU because it is fairly straight forward, though it is worth mentioning that the process takes about half an hour and is quite power intensive so the phone will need to be fully charged, or connected to the mains, unless ofcourse your phone charges via USB. If the generic firmware is the same version number as the branded firmware the updater will report that there are no updates available, you should select to reinstall current version. When the phone reboots it will have the new, unbranded firmware!!!

Additional Notes

Phones such as the N97 and 5800 or later may fail to boot at this stage. I believe this is because the UDP (User Data Preservation,) is trying to apply the settings from the old firmware to the new firmware. This may not be possible as the phone is now different. This is expected and no reason to be alarmed. Should this happen it can be fixed easily using the method described below. This can be prevented by performing the hard reset before the update and change of product code. With S^3 devices it may also prevent having to reinstall the QT environment.

Another common problem is that the NSU initially reports that there is a firmware available, begins the procedure only to stop and then report that there is no update available. This is a fault entirely with the NSU and not the debranding process. It happens with regular updates too. It occurs when the NSU has previously been used to update a phone of that type. This is not the place to go into too much detail of the causes of this error but the cure is to delete or rename the contents of the following folder:
C:\ProgramData\Nokia\Nokia Service Layer\A\nsl_service_module_00001\vpls\www.dsut.online.nokia.com.oti.caresuite\Products - W7 / Vista
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Nokia\Nokia Service Layer\A\nsl_service_module_00001\vpls\www.dsut.online.nokia.com.oti.caresuite\Products - XP
You may also need to enable viewing of hidden files. Location may vary depending on your setup.

You can now restore the appropriate data.

Should the worst happen and your phone fail to boot with your new firmware it's not all over. This is extremely rare. Many phones (symbian phones, 6120, N Series, E Series etc.) it is now possible to restore them to their original condition. To do this we use something called the 3 keys technique. This technique should only be used to reset a phone when no other method is available. This is a Hard reset.

To reset using the three keys technique power off the phone, hold down the green call key, the number '3' key and the star '*' key. Then power on the phone. follow the on screen instructions.

Touch UI phones eg 5800 are hard reset by holding down red, green and camera whilst powering on.

The N97 is hard reset by extending the keyboard. and holding down the shift key (on the left) the space bar, and the delete key whilst powering up. See diagram. Similarly the N8 is hard reset by holding camera, volume down and menu. See diagram. This is sometimes known as the three fingered salute, or the vulcan nerve pinch.

Product Codes

I'll list below all the product codes that i can but a good solution is to simply Google something like 'Nokia [model] unbranded product code' in my experience the best search term is:
nokia [model] "unbranded" OR "generic" "product code" OR "productcode"
Even if the code you need is listed below it would do no harm to verify it, new codes become available all the time.

(Please note i am keen to expand this list if you find a product code, especially an unbranded one, that's not listed please do contact me.)

I recommend something like "nokia [model] product code unbranded OR generic"

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