# Tell me about flashing cell phones. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 15, 2004, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-flashing-cell-phones/240145 "2004-04-15T10:08:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Harmonix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Harmonix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonix)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-flashing-cell-phones/240145/1 "2004-04-15T10:08:29Z")
I’ve just recently gotten a new phone – a new samsung sgh-e715. The firmware drives me batshit. The interface is unintuitive, the mandatory camera noise is especially annoying when using “multishot mode”, and it’s just \* slow \*. In short, I want to change it. I’ve heard about flashing firmwares, uploading software etc onto my phone before. I’ve read a little bit on it, but i’m thinking I can get someone knowledgeable here to answer my questions quicker. So tell me, how do I flash my phone? What if any improvements/features etc are with the new firmwares? Can I edit my own, is the source available?(I have some programming experience. ) Do I need a data cable? (i’ve heard of wireless unlocking… ) What else can I upload into my phone? Anyone tried this? Any tips? etc etc. Thanks guys ---
**Author:** ![Harmonix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Harmonix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonix)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-flashing-cell-phones/240145/2 "2004-04-15T10:32:18Z")
My phone has an IRDA connector. Can I flash it with that? ---
**Author:** ![arteitle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@arteitle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arteitle)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-flashing-cell-phones/240145/3 "2004-04-15T14:58:22Z")
Usually, firmware updates are not made available to the end user, so it’s unlikely you’d be able to flash your phone yourself. Special phone programming and configuration software is often required, which is only given to cellular providers and shops. They would connect the phone to a PC using a data cable like yours, and along with flashing the firmware, they can likely also program the phonebook, ringtones, etc. The source code isn’t made public. Normally updates are just bugfixes, not additions of new features. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-flashing-cell-phones/240145/4 "2004-04-15T17:13:53Z")
Although **arteitle** is basically right, there are some folks [here](http://www.mobiledia.com/forum/index.html) who may be able to help, if at all possible. Some phones are easier to do firmware upgrades on than others. Also, many cell service providers can do such upgrades over the phone. Call the tech support folks at your service provider and ask if they can do this. They should also be able to tell you what features the new firmware release provides, if one is available. ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-flashing-cell-phones/240145/5 "2004-04-15T18:04:57Z")
The noise the camera function makes is deliberate; it is legally required in many Asian countries, and I suspect in North America soon, too. Removing it may be illegal, depending on where you live. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-flashing-cell-phones/240145/6 "2004-04-15T20:33:55Z")
> [@Cerowyn](#): > > The noise the camera function makes is deliberate; it is legally required in many Asian countries, and I suspect in North America soon, too. Removing it may be illegal, depending on where you live. Could you cite that for me? I’m having a hard time swallowing that, and my BS meter is beginning to smoke… ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-flashing-cell-phones/240145/7 "2004-04-15T21:32:11Z")
I thought this thread was going to be about cell phones with flashing lights on them. I recently got a new one that flashes a surprisingly bright blue light about every 5 or 10 seconds while I’m talking. It tends to scare the shit out of me when I’m talking in the dark near reflective surfaces. Anyhoo, I wouldn’t be surprised if what Cerowyn said eventually comes true. There has been a lot of talk about privacy issues regarding camera phones lately. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Harmonix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonix)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-flashing-cell-phones/240145/8 "2004-04-15T23:28:04Z")
I believe arteitle is right Q.E.D. Asian countries require manufactorers to make their phone cameras make a sound when taking a picture. This was to deter amateur voyeurs. Personally I just find the noise highly annoying. My phone has a multi shot feature – and when I have it shoot 15 pictures it’s just annoying as all hell. I don’t think it’s illegal for the end-user to remove it though… Cisco i’m almost positive if your phone is a samsung – you canI’ve turn it off. as always, still looking for more information. Thanks guys. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-flashing-cell-phones/240145/9 "2004-04-16T00:31:31Z")
I remember reading about this a little while back. In South Korea [http://www.iht.com/articles/117212.html](http://www.iht.com/articles/117212.html) > [@](#): > > Now the government has had enough. The Ministry of Information and Communication said Tuesday that it would order cellphone makers like Samsung, LG Electronics and other domestic producers to equip their handsets with a sound that tips off others that a photograph is being taken. > . > “Camera-mounted cell phones must now be equipped with devices that emit a 65-decibel sound, such as a mechanical click or a human voice saying one, two, three,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that it must be impossible to disable the sound manually. **Cisco**. I just got a Sanyo VM4500 that has a multicolor LCD that blinks when I’m talking. You can go into the settings and disable it on mine, and I would imagine the same is possible with other models. ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-flashing-cell-phones/240145/10 "2004-04-16T02:05:25Z")
> [@Q.E.D.](#): > > Could you cite that for me? I’m having a hard time swallowing that, and my BS meter is beginning to smoke… My DoCoMo cell phone (Japan) has the annoying feature. The law even sets the minimum decibel level. **Sublight** can probably relate a story about an amusing experience he had with a chorus of ketai (cell phone) cameras at a wedding he was at. The problem was surruptiously taken pictures. All the cites I have are in Japanese, although I’ll try and dig up something authoritative in English… ---
**Author:** ![caphis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19adc/32.png) [@caphis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caphis)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-flashing-cell-phones/240145/11 "2004-04-16T02:09:49Z")
Mm… thankfully, my Sanyo VM4500 has an option to turn off the annoying photo noise. ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-flashing-cell-phones/240145/12 "2004-04-16T04:43:17Z")
> [@Harmonix](#): > > So tell me, how do I flash my phone? What if any improvements/features etc are with the new firmwares? Can I edit my own, is the source available?(I have some programming experience. ) Do I need a data cable? (i’ve heard of wireless unlocking… ) What else can I upload into my phone? Anyone tried this? Any tips? Generally, you can’t flash it yourself. Some carriers have special firmware for phones on their network, and they don’t want you using firmware that could make your phone interfere with the network or violate FCC rules. But if they have a newer firmware than the one in your phone, they should perform the upgrade for free. Depending on your phone and the PC software you use to connect to it, you might be able to download the firmware from your phone, edit it, and upload it again (at the risk of killing your phone if something goes wrong). Since the source code isn’t available, and most people aren’t familiar with the CPUs inside cell phones, there isn’t much you can really do that way. The only changes like that I’ve heard of for my LG VX4400, for example, are hiding the “Verizon Wireless” banner and turning off the light while the phone is charging. You generally _can_ upload images and ringtones to your phone safely and easily, thuogh. > [@Q.E.D.](#): > > Although **arteitle** is basically right, there are some folks [here](http://www.mobiledia.com/forum/index.html) who may be able to help, if at all possible. Some phones are easier to do firmware upgrades on than others. Also, many cell service providers can do such upgrades over the phone. Can you clarify this? I don’t know of any phones sold in the U.S. that can do firmware upgrades over the air. They can do PRL[sup]\*[/sup] updates, but the PRL is tiny compared to the full firmware. Doing a firmware upgrade OTA would be potentially dangerous, because the call might be dropped during the upgrade, and expensive, because the phone would need to have enough free memory to store a second copy of the firmware (it can’t overwrite the first copy, which is being used to download the upgrade). Also, another good place to find this information is on Usenet: try the alt.cellular newsgroup, or the specific group for your cellular carrier. - PRL = Preferred Roaming List, which tells a CDMA phone the order in which it should try different networks when you’re away from home, and whether a certain network is “extended” or “roaming” ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-flashing-cell-phones/240145/13 "2004-04-16T15:39:02Z")
> [@Mr2001](#): > > Can you clarify this? I don’t know of any phones sold in the U.S. that can do firmware upgrades over the air. They can do PRL[sup]\*[/sup] updates, but the PRL is tiny compared to the full firmware. [Here.](http://www.mobiletrax.com/im/20030721.html) Specifically, this portion: > [@](#): > > Firmware Upgrade – Most new wireless handsets are being designed so they can receive an upgrade to the handset’s firmware over the air thus avoiding a product recall. It also allows a phone to go into use quicker since exhaustive testing doesn’t have to be entirely completed. If an error is discovered after the handset is in the field, then a firmware upgrade command can be sent OTA. The phone goes inactive for a short time while the firmware is upgraded (technically, the internal firmware is contained in flash which is re-written from a special upgrade area in the phone). Companies such as Bitfone, DoOnGo, Insignia Solutions, Sonic Mobility and Blue Iguana are working with handset manufacturers and carriers to provide such “on the fly” upgrades to wireless handsets. The firmware overwrite is not performed “live”. The data are stored in a memory area, and the actual firmware update is done only after the data has been downloaded and the phone is off-air. More and more phones are capable of this nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-flashing-cell-phones/240145/14 "2004-04-16T17:29:03Z")
> [@World Eater](#): > > **Cisco**. I just got a Sanyo VM4500 that has a multicolor LCD that blinks when I’m talking. You can go into the settings and disable it on mine, and I would imagine the same is possible with other models. Yep, that’s the one. I got it for free after Sprint lost my (broken, hehe) LG5350. In a lot of ways this phone is nicer and has a more intuitive UI but some things about it just piss me off (no alarm) and some just plain don’t make sense (the strobe light while talking.)