If you de-brand your phone what do you lose? What do you gain? There is an upside and a downside to flashing the manufacturer's generic firmware to your device. It all depends on how you use your phone and if your are staying with the carrier that issued the device.

Why Debrand At All? -

Many providers lock out certain features to limit your ability, or at least make it more difficult, to add MP3 files as ringtones. Others will limit your browsing universe on the web. Some providers totally eliminate a feature from a phone through the firmware.

Other providers clutter up the phone with their menu items intended to sell you whatever they can. AT&T is good for this. This pushes functional items to submenus or off the table entirely.

Lose the Clutter; Gain Ability

Debranding removes the service provider clutter. It removes the service provider imposed restrictions. It allows the device to operate as the manufacturer intended it to operate. If it has an IrDA port, it will now function even if the provider, like T-Mobile, specified it was to be non-functional with their firmware. If it was supposed to have A2DP Bluetooth function it will operate even if the provider, like AT&T, specified it would not be implemented with their firmware.  Push to Talk is a commonly hidden attribute on a handset that re-emerges after the provider's firmware is replaced with the manufacturer's firmware. Functionality of this will continue to be service provider dependant but if you transfer to a provider that supports it you'll be ready to go.

PC Connectivity The Biggest Gain

One of the biggest gains frequently comes in PC connectivity. Several providers work very diligently at keeping you from connecting your device to your PC for anything other than synching your calendar and contacts. They want you to message your photos to your e-mail address so they can rake in the "big bucks" so you can save your photos to your PC. If you are a prolific shutter bug eliminating this quirk in the firmware can pay for the debranding over the life of the device.

So, What Could Be The Downside?

If you are still on AT&T or still on T-Mobile with a handset that has been unbranded you are going to be missing a few things.

On Phone Commerce

MEdiaMall will no longer function as it did. If you like to buy a ringtone or wallpaper from time to time from your provider you won't be able to anymore because without the correct branded firmware MEdiaMall will not recognize your phone was being on the approved list of phones.  The same for t-zones on T-Mobile. You'll see a message that tells you that although your phone may be capable of downloading material since it isn't supported they won't sell it to you.  You'll miss out on the convenience of having your mobile phone bill reflect your game, ringtone and wallpaper purchases. This commerce connection is probably the biggest loss for the majority of devices.

Connectivity Settings

You might have to manually enter the Internet, MMS and Voicemail number. Some providers have an online configuration utility that will load these setting via SMS. A call to 611 usually will take of this if nothing else works. Remember that the menus will have changed and they will not be laid out in the same way as the provider menus nor will they have the same options. The CSR will have the provider's menu in front of them so you'll have to be flexible and patient throughout the process.

The Number One Loss from debranding a phone still employed on its native network is the loss of UMA (unlicensed mobile access) capability.

If your phone has UMA, (see my guide on this) supports IEEE 802.11b/g/n (draft) or any part of it then the settings are probably buried in the firmware. Unless you have a system for re-loading those settings after installing the manufacturer's firmware chances are you will no longer be able to take advantage of the minutes savings UMA affords you when coupled with an appropriate plan with your provider.  With the Nokia 6301 it is possible to re-load the settings if you have backed them up to the microSD memory card prior to installing the new firmware. With other phones I do not know. So, do your research before you tinker with your device. Do your research before you send your phone off to have it unbranded. If it supports 802.11 be sure it will still support it when you are finished!

Was This Guide Helpful?

If this guide was helpful let me know by voting for it. If it goes what I consider a reasonable amount of time without a reasonable ratio of votes to views I will gladly pull it to eliminate the clutter of non-useful information on eBay.

Please be sure to see my other UMA related guides for a list of handsets that support UMA and also for an explanation of what it is and how it works. - Robert