Why debrand, customize, or flash your phone?

All these terms are synonyms. People call them by different names but they all actually mean the same thing. Let me first start of by explaining what flashing a phone actually means; it’s a procedure where the firmware of the phone is re-installed with a better, newer or customized firmware. Cell phone manufacturers release firmware updates every so often, but most consumers do not know the procedure or simply don’t wish to take a risk. What’s this risk I’m talking about? For example for most phones, while flashing, if the computer freezes, power shuts down or due to a cable faultiness, the phone will be damaged, most times permanently.

Some people might ask, is there a real need to flash a phone or even bother? In most cases, there’s no need to flash a phone, but it is usually recommended. The newer firmwares are usually designed with better stability, more features and better functionality.

Another reason for flashing might be that you decided to change your provider and the old logos annoy you. Why would Rogers logos appear when you’re clearly using Fido? That’s where flashing comes in, which erases your previous settings, logos, custom programs and so on. On top of that, some carriers restrict the settings. Usually MMS and Browser settings are locked and cannot be changed. Flashing will allow you to manually enter those settings for your new provider.

There are custom firmwares that allow you to add extra features or new programs. Such features include for example on the Sony Ericssons locked to Rogers. The end consumer cannot assign his or her MP3s as ringtones, even though the phone was designed for this feature. Flashing the phone will allow you to use this feature.

And finally, some firmwares become corrupt over time, and sometimes slow the phone down, and sometimes actually damage the functionality of the phone. A perfect example of this is Sony Ericsson’s famous White Screen of death. This happened randomly where the whole screen would become white and the phone could no longer be used. A simple flash would fix that problem right away.

Just a side note, some phones cannot be flashed, these phones include Blackberry, some Samsungs and a few other brands.

This articles has been written by GTAGSM.com staff, for all your unlocking needs. If you require any phone unlocking or similar.

Rogers phone unlocking or Fido phone unlocking can all be done remotely at www.gtagsm.com.