Changing 8210 IMEI number

[tomjaxon]

Hi,

I want to change my IMEI number on my 8210. I've seen alot of software aroung that is capable of doing so but am not sure of the hardware required.

Do I need a Data Cable and / or a Flasher Cable?

Thanks

[basten]

Hi...

U need MBus cable (DB9 connector) and program which I recommend is Eeprom tools 3.1. It'll work well.

[Manipulator]

you can use data cable with nokia tools or B-phreaks Eeprom tools 3.1 to change IMEI.but why you want to do so ,if your phone work fine.
you are new here,it is imposible that you want to change IMEI because is after flashing.
is that a stolen phone.
hehe:rolleyes: :D

[tomjaxon]

Thanks for the help,

I found the phone and handed it in to the police. No one claimed it so they returned it to me. But now, when I try to use the phone it says "Sim Registration Failed" (regardless of what sim is in the phone). I have contacted my provider, Vodafone, who werent interested in helping me.

It is my understanding that changing the IMEI will fix this problem. is that correct?

[soapboy]

i think changing the imei number is quite easy using tools like nk_calc with an data cable, but you have to use a correct imei number. i think there are certain numbers you must include, it is not just random.

i am not sure, but i think it's now illegal to change imei number?

out of interest, tomjaxon, what happens when you turn your nokia 8210 on? do you get any reception?

[tomjaxon]

When I turn the phone on it starts up, shows the welcome message and then all looks fine for a moment. But then it displays the message "Sim Registration Failed". I press exit to hide the error. The phone is now operable but has no reception.

I'm going to buy an MBUS & FBUS (Autoswitchable) Data Cable, are there any known issues with autoswitchable cables in programs such as EEPROM Tools and so on??

Also, do you know if it is possible to change the IMEI and do any other low-level functions using InfraRed?

[Manipulator]

@tomjaxon
for what i say stolen phone,i just joking,don't be angry.
for your phone,i think the problem is not on the IMEI.
as for me,i put a simcard that is no more in service(account closed/no line) on a no problem(working)nokia 8210 it also displays the message "Sim Registration Failed".it mean the service provider not want to get you signal,not service.
for you,
1st: i not sure that you simcard is a working simcard or not.if it is not a working simcard offcouse you will get a message like me.try to get /find a working simcard the have service/signal from your friend and test it on your phone.
2nd: if your simcard have no problem,than "your" phone must have problem,the phone can not send out signal to contect,connect,do Registration with the service provider.
that what i can say.maybe the phone is throw away by some 1 because it not function any more.
:grin:
good luck

[soapboy]

i also think it's not imei problem... But I do ask, does anyone know what happens when you try to use imei banned phones? Is there any reception?

[tomjaxon]

Before I discuss what I know of the problem here are some definitions of terms (from http://marcin-wiacek.fkn.pl/english/gsm/netmon/faq_net1.htm )

HLR (Home Location Register) - Network register containing information about subscribers (i.e. about their subscribed services, tariff, last network they were logged in, service restrictions etc).
IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identification code) -
Unique 15-digit identification number of every GSM phone on the world. IMEI contains information about the manufacturer, place of production and serial number Operators can restrict network access for particular phones – for example the stolen ones (identified using IMEI number). Different operators can exchange such lists too.

IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identify) - The IMSI is a unique non-dialable number allocated to each mobile subscriber in the GSM system that identifies the subscriber and his or her subscription within the GSM network. The IMSI resides in the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), which is transportable across Mobile Station Equipment (MSE). The IMSI is made up of three parts:
[list=a]
first three digits are MCC (Mobile Country Code) - code of the network home country (260 for Poland). Decimal value.
next three digits are MNC (Mobile Network Code) - network code (different for networks with the same MCC).
the rest is a unique number Mobile Subscriber Identity Number (MSIN) with up to 10 digits.
[/list=a]
IMSI attach - It is a procedure executed after each power on. The phone informs network that it is active (and is ready for communication - receiving waiting SMS, etc.) and then it receives the IMSI number.

IMSI detach - The phone informs network that it is going to switch off and the communication won’t be possible (its IMSI expires).



Now on to what I know of what is actually happening....

I have activated NetMonitor (using infraRed as I dont have a DC) to find out that the cause of the "Sim Card Registration Failed" problem (see Test 39, Reason of last connection end) is that the "IMSI is unknown in HLR".

While some of the above definitions are confusing at times, I have looked at numerous websites and it is my understanding that the phone tries to sign on, the IMSI attach procedure tells the network that the phone is ready to sign on and sends the network its IMEI number. The IMEI number is rejected by the network so the IMSI given to the phone/sim is not valid or non-existant. So the phone cannot be identified in the HLR and thus will not be logged on to the network.

Basically what happens is the phone is black-listed from the network.

(Note that I have tried to turn the IMSI attach function off in NetMonitor using InfraRed, however I can view settings but not change them for some reason. Is this possible? Can anyone help me here?)

Anyway, So I figure by changing the phones identity, that is, changing the IMEI (see definition above), the network will allow the phone to be assigned a valid IMSI and thus be recognised in the HLR. Hopefully if all goes well the phone should log on to the network and get reception.


Could someone please help me with this, as I asked above I'm going to buy an MBUS & FBUS (Autoswitchable) Data Cable, are there any known issues with autoswitchable cables in programs such as EEPROM Tools and so on??

Also, do you know if it is possible to change the IMEI and do any other low-level functions using InfraRed?

[soapboy]

My nokia 6210 dislikes my autoswitching M/F bus cables, so I now have a manual select cable. I assume this is the same with 8210, but maybe I just have a bad quality autoswitching cable.

I think flashing and changing settings using Eeprom tools/Rolis/etc is limited to using cables.

The above post is a very interesting read, please let us know the results of your progress.

[basten]

Hi...tomjaxon

Firstly answer ur questions.

1. Autoswitchable M/Fbus can use with Eepromtool 3.1.
2. U cannot change IMEI by Infrared.

If u have some problems about changing IMEI, mail to me [email protected] I probably can help u.

[sonicdeejay]

hello basten,,in thailand..do u guys hav 8260(not GSM)??..

[Manipulator]

@tomjaxon
do you tested your phone with a working simcard.
do you tested your simcard with a working phone.
working in here mean it can get signal/make outgoing call.
i still don't think the problem is on the phone IMEI.

[tomjaxon]

Ofcourse I've tried the different sims in the phone and ofcourse my sim works. It would be a pretty irrational response to think that just because the phone didnt work I'd have to change the IMEI. Especially since I didnt even know what IMEI was before this problem occurred.

I have done quite a bit of research into the causes of the problem and have a reasonable understanding of it. If you dont believe what i've said to date, do some research yourself.

As ive mentioned in other posts, the error message is "Sim card registration failed", while it is easy to assume that it is a problem with the sim or the phone, it is not. In earlier software versions this message was "'IMSI unknown in HLR" but nokia changed the error to a more friendly message.

Test 39 in NetMonitor on the phone confirms the nature of the error. If the "MM CauseCode" equals 2 then the reason that the phone didnt successfully sign on to the network is because "'IMSI unknown in HLR". This can be found in a number of different Netmonitor documentations.

The reasons why I think changing the IMEI will fix it are discussed above, pay particular attention to the IMEI defintion; specifically, the part that says that this is how stolen phones are identified.
Just to reiterate, my phone is not stolen, I found it and tried to get Vodafone to unblacklist the phone but they were not interested in helping me. They said buy a new phone (something that I will do if my efforts with changing the IMEI fail).

If you have any other ideas on the problems and ways to fix it, that are backed by cited references and GSM theory, I'd love to hear them.

While the simplest solution can often fix the most mind boggling problem, it is not the case here. Thanks for your input anyway.

[keyzer]

the only way you can get rid of the sim card registration failed message is by changing the imei. if you change imei you have to be sure of what to change to as the new imei could also be barred. i recomend changing imei to an old voda handset imei you may having lying around that way it will have less chance of getting barred. as for the law it is not illegal to change imei on handsets as this can be classed as imei rebuild which nokia do all the time, it is only illegal to change imei on stolen handsets.

[KnOeFz]

edited:

accidentaly hit send button twice :D

-=K=-

[KnOeFz]

Come on guys... :rolleyes:

With all this writing you could have changed the phones imei a zillion times... what's the problem? Use eeprom tools or nk_calk or Jordik or whatever tool you like to change the imei...
:rolleyes:

The original imei should be on the sticker underneath the battery.

If you need a new imei use this tool I attached... It's called "advanced imei generator" it can get you imei from a list or a random one... pick your choise.

-=K=-

[tomjaxon]

I'm getting the data cable today so will try it out tonite.

Thanks for the app KnOeFz.

Keyzer, or anyone else for that matter, do you know if there are any issues with putting a 5110 IMEI on a 8210 phone. I have a 5110 that recently broke, and can use the IMEI from that. But does the network check in any way to see if the IMEI is correct for the type of phone, or is the IMEI the only way the network knows what type of phone it is?

[keyzer]

if you use old 5110 imei this will be perfect as voda or cellnet do not put bars on their handsets. the only network that i know of that tracks imei's are orange but since you are using a 5110 imei they do not have access to other imei's apart from their own to see what you are using.

i hope this clears things up>

[soapboy]

if Voda / O2 do not bar handsets then what do they do to bar stolen handsets?

[Squirt1000]

To try and combat the growing problem of mobile theft.. Even though anyone with half a braincell and internet access should be able to find a way around and barring placed by the network.. I recently lost my 8310 which was barred/blacklisted by T-mobile.. Someone handed in the phone to the local authoritys which was then returned to me.. Then when I called T-mobile all they did was unblacklist the imei and all was fine.. Me now got 2 8310s!!

[NokiaFan]

Hi There.

Hmmm, is anyone buying this guys lameass story..

Well, if he hands it over to the police and it is not his, why would they give it back to him.... Even if the police would do such a thing isnt it odd that they cannot find the rightfull owner but it seems like the telephone company has it registered at stolen....

Is the police that daft that they dont even ask the telephone company who the person that has gotten it barred from the network is...

ALl in all it sounds to me like this guy "found" this telephone in someones jacket pocket and lifted the poor guy of the heavy telephone...

But on the other hand he is not the only one to blame, it is ridiculous that it is SO easy to change imei on those phones...

The right thing for Nokia and any decent manufacturer would be to either scrap this "feature" or to make the imei be put into a OTP area of the MAD....

NokiaFan

[KnOeFz]

@Nokiafan

I agree with you that this thread is going nowhere... So i might as well add some offtopic bla bla ;)

But you statment that it's too easy to change imei sounds like crap to me. It's also very easy to throw a brick through a window a steal whatever is behind it... Can't blame window manufactorers for that can you? So you should not blame Nokia for people abusing phonesoftware... Blame the abusers...

But that's just my opinion.

-=K=-

[keyzer]

from september 5th onwards anyone found changing imei's or in possesion of imei changing equipment will be in serious trouble. so hopefully that will bring theft levels down.

[KnOeFz]

where? Did't hear anythin bout it hear... eventhough I think it's already illegal to change it here (Netherlands) but can't imangine it beeing illegal to have mbus cable (as it is imei change equipment). Beside.. I don't think any thiefs will be scared of...

-=K=-

[Squirt1000]

Yup, I agree... its so easy to download a copy of eeprom tools and do the business with that... And at the end of the day how can the authoritys trace it back to the person that changed the IMEI in the 1st place.. I myself would never do such a thing as im 100% behind trying to stop mobile crime.. but as long as the tools are there ppl will abuse them!
Same as games consoles.. Who has em chipped or modded to only play imports?? Always a more sinister reason behind it...

[phredrik]

"Well, if he hands it over to the police and it is not his, why would they give it back to him.... "

if they cant find the owner in, i think its a week or two, they give it to the owner. Havent you ever heard finders keepers? Maybe they have some inspiration from that saying.

[Larry]

Originally posted by NokiaFan

Is the police that daft that they dont even ask the telephone company who the person that has gotten it barred from the network is...


Let's face it, police, especially in England aren't exactly rocket scientists. Look at the american stereotypical copper - munching donuts and drinking coffee. It's just like that here.

[h_r_f]

I fell over a bike in a hedge.

Took it to coppers, They said if the owner does not come back in 30days come in and take it.

So I went back and cycled home.

Hmm, Is this how to legally steal something?

(I don't condone this kind of activity)

I suppose the police should do a bit of searching for the owner in the case of the mobile!