WindowsMobile Cool

Today I will show you how to upgrade your *device from Windows Mobile 5.0 to Windows Mobile 6.0 Professional.

*Very important to note - this guide is intended for the following devices ONLY: HTC P4500 - Z - TyTN/Hermes, Rogers TyTN/Hermes, Qtek 9600, Dopod 838 Pro - CHT9000, i-mate JASJAM, O2 Xda Trion, T-Mobile MDA Vario II, Vodafone VPA Compact III - v1605, SFR v1605, Orange SPV M3100, AT&T/Cingular 8525, Swisscom XPA v1605, SoftBank X01HT.

DISCLAIMER: This guide is exactly that - a guide. By following the steps in this guide, the manufacturers warranty might be (and most likely will be) made void. By following any of the steps in this guide you personally take responsibility for any loss of data or other problems that occur as a result of following this guide. I will say, by following the guide exactly you shouldn’t encounter any problems but hey, stuff happens, right? Just be aware that it might.

QuickList

Requirements: 6.0 ROM - These are not difficult to find at all. A quick Google search or let’s say, xda-developers site search should lead you to a reliable 6.0 ROM. Again, I repeat, make sure you have the ROM that is tailored to your specific phone.
Difficulty level: Scary, but not difficult if you follow these instructions as well as any instructions included with your downloaded ROM.
Time it takes: This whole process took me about an hour allowing myself plenty of time to read and re-read instructions to make sure I was very clear on what I was to do. I suggest you do the same!
Cost: FREE (well, unless you don’t follow the instructions… hey, how much did you pay for that fancy little brick?)

Before carrying out anything in this guide please make sure you have flashed HardSPL to the device. If you have not, click here for the guide to upgrading your HardSPL.

WINDOWS MOBILE 6.0 ROM INSTALLATION AND SETUP

1. This Windows Mobile 6.0 ROM upgrade process will hard reset your device so make sure to backup any data or settings you really like and want to keep.

2. Download your Windows Mobile 6.0 ROM and extract the archive to a folder that you’ve created or that is easy to locate on your PC. You should have two files as shown below:

3. Now make sure your device is on and Windows Media Device Center (or for activesync for XP users) is running on your PC. Connect your device to the PC using a USB cable and allow the two to sync. When this is done, run the file called “RUUWrapper.exe” as seen below:

4. The screen shown below will appear:

5. When the RUU (or ‘Rom Update Utility’) runs, it will give you few options to choose from: if you are sure of your HardSPL version (see step 1) then select it from the list but generally just click on “Autostart”, which is shown in the image above. The RUU file will attempt to figure out which SPL you have then when it’s done, click ‘next’.

6. Check the appropriate box as shown in the picture and click ‘next’;

7. Again, check the appropriate box as shown in the picture and click ‘next’;

8. Click the button that says ‘update’ as shown below;

9. The RUU will display your current ROM version and then the ROM version that it will flash as shown below;

10. Click ‘next’;

11. The RUU will then load your device into ‘bootloader‘ mode and then begin to update your device. If this is your first ROM flash via the PC, some device driver information may show up, simply allow everything to run and the progress bar should begin to fill up. The ROM flash should take around five minutes but may take longer depending on your devices radio image version.

When the ROM flash process has finished, the device will reboot and load in to Windows Mobile. The new ROM will load up and you will need to configure your device and install (or re-install) any software you have.

BENEFITS

Congratulations! Now your device is upgraded from Windows Mobile version 5.0 to 6.0! You can double check that this has been completed successfully by going to Start –> Settings –> System –> About and it should show you a screen similar to the one shown below from my HTC TyTN (Hermes);

What’s new in 6.0? Well, on top of being prettier (full visual refresh), it also had a full audio refresh (new ringtones, new system sounds). It also had some mobile messaging enhancements including Smartfilter (help finding emails and messages with a search), hotkeys, HTML Email, improved Calendaring (looks just like the PC version of Outlook), new security and certificates, internet sharing (using your device as a high speed data modem), new Office Mobile, update to Internet Explorer Mobile (search bar, easier access to favourites and history), Windows Live, Windows Media Player update (includes smartfiltering now), and much more! I’m sure 5 minutes with this new ROM and you’ll be able to see for yourself why 6.0 is so much of an improvement over 5.0!

RELEVANT LINKS

How to: Upgrade your WM5.0 device to WM6.0 Pro, Part 1

(See the next page for our How to: Upgrade your WM5.0 device to WM6.0 Pro image gallery)

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