Tue, July 10th, 2012 4 2309

How to get the Nokia Network Setup app

Since the disappearance of this useful app Lumia users have had problems with their unlocked Lumia devices (locked too?), for example when I found out that the US T-Mobile Lumia 710 worked with AT&T it was thanks to the Nokia Network Setup app, once unlocked I was able to connect with AT&T and send MMS otherwise I had a crippled phone that couldn’t connect to the network, to make things worse for Nokia and it’s consumers the Lumia 800 bundle is being sold as an unlocked device now at a price of $599 (used to be $900 lol) and the owners can’t connect to the network because the app has been taken from the marketplace. Over at the Nokia Support Discussions people from different countries are complaining about how this app isn’t available yet for them, a Nokia community manager responded with this reply on the forums:

The app is now available again in all countries except USA, Canada, Columbia, India and Iceland.  Also, not for the following operators: Boost (Australia), Siminn (Iceland), Talkmobile (UK), Virgin (UK).

We have received the following clarification from our North American colleagues concerning the reason that it cannot work at present:

Lumia 900 models sold in the US by AT&T are automatically provisioned by the AT&T contract SIM card to use the ‘PTA’ access point.

This PTA access point is used by the qualcomm modem sw to attach to the LTE network, and is defined in the EFS file system on the modem side. Windows Phone OS does not come into play here. Attaching to the LTE network happens at bootup. Network Setup cannot manipulate this modem-side access point definition at the moment.

reading the comments after this reply from Nokia, I think the reason why this app hasn’t been released for the public is because carriers want to keep their devices locked down, but at the same time it affects consumers that have their devices unlocked officially or have purchased unlocked devices.

So what are your options if you can’t seem to have your Lumia working 100% because this app is missing? well one is keep waiting (not sure how long) or the other is by flashing a foreign firmware on your Lumia (710 and 800 only). I have a T-Mobile Lumia 710 and I was able to flash an unbranded  UK Tango ROM using Product Support Tool for Store, and it has the Nokia Network Setup app pre-installed, I’ll explain how this can be achieved:

[box_warning]By flashing your device your warranty is VOIDED meaning you won’t be able to send it for repairs (unless you can flash it back to the stock ROM), I’m also not responsible if your device is bricked in the process, this is for experienced users that have some Android, Symbian, WebOS or any kind of flashing background.[/box_warning]

[box_warning]I used a Lumia 710 device locked to T-Mobile USA, the method described here was done by following a guide for the Lumia 800, here’s the Link for more details and screenshots but it works the same, do not try flashing a Lumia 800 firmware to a Lumia 710 or viceversa!!![/box_warning]

[box_tip]This method is also called “unbranding” your device won’t have the settings and modifications the carrier has made to your device, neat![/box_tip]

You need:

• NaviFirm Plus (used version 1.5)
• Nokia Care Suite (used version 5.0.0 2012.12.5)

the only program that needs to be installed on your PC is Nokia Care Suite (might prompt for visual C++ installation requirements, accept all), once installed navigate to the installation folder (Program Files\Nokia\Nokia Care Suite\Drivers) and install either x86 or x64 Drivers (check your version of Windows)

The objective here is to install an unbranded ROM, what I did was look for a firmware that started with “Country Variant” and avoiding those that had carrier names

Open the ZIP file and launch NaviFirmPlus.exe

After launching the exe file browse the products and select your device, Release (choose 8773 for Tango) and look for an unbranded variant

Once you select the Release desired the firmware files will load on the right top, just choose the directory to save to and download

Open Product Support Tool for Store and look under File>Preferences what path is being used to store firmware files, copy and paste it to your file explorer window, you might have to go one folder back and create the products folder if it’s not existent

Inside the Products folder create a folder that matches the firmware that you downloaded, inside this folder all the firmware files must be present

Now go back to Product Support Tool and choose File>Open product and select the device that matches the folder name that you created inside the Products folder earlier

Open Programming>Recovery

Click on Update List and the firmware folder that has the files should appear with it’s Navifirm name, if it doesn’t you haven’t added the files or created the folder with the correct name

Make sure USB dead phone flashing is selected, don’t connect the Lumia until prompted by the program, turn it off and click on Start

Follow the how to guide, while holding the volume up button connect the microUSB to the device, once you feel it vibrate click on start, it should take about five minutes, do not disconnect your device or it’ll become bricked

Source : XDA Forums

Tags: Featured, guides, lumia 710, Windows Phone

About the Author

Giovani Delgado Thanks for reading, I have been a Nokia fan since the N95 and I'm currently using the Lumia 900, you can follow me at Twitter @giodelgado or contact me by mail giodelgado(at)nokiabits.com

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