Unlocking Motorola Defy+ (For those who got one for $99 from Telstra!)

Here is my tutorial to unlock your Defy+. Be aware, that even though this method has worked for me, there are always risks involved when tweaking with the phone's software, but as long as you don't do anything stupid (unplug the phone during flashing, trying this method with 2% battery, etc) then you should be fine. In the case where the phone may go into a boot loop, all you need to do is wipe the phone via recovery and reflash a ROM and that should do the trick.

I am not responsible for any devices that explode, implode or spark the end of the world.

Note: If you're having issues with download locations, etc scroll down to Forgot69's post

Step1: Rooting

Check your phone software. If your baseband is "EPU93_U_00.59.01" or below, you can root your phone using the following software.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=803682

If your baseband is higher than the above ("EPU93_U_00.61.03" will most likely be the case here), you need to root the phone via the following method:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1595013

Steps

  1. Download the software provided in the link above. Extract them both to the same folder (You can ignore firmware.z01 and extract firmware.zip as the two files are linked.

  2. Download the software in the following link - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1100585

  3. Install RSD Lite and the drivers that suit your Windows version (x32, x64)

  4. Open RSD Lite as Administrator

  5. Turn off your Defy+ and follow the instructions here - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=25243714&post… - on how to get the phone into recovery mode so we can flash the files

  6. Go back to the first link that provides the software and follow the basic instructions there. Select the files in RSD Lite and flash the software mentioned in the link in the order provided by pressing "…" on RSD Lite. IT IS VITAL THAT YOU ENSURE THE PHONE IS CONNECTED TO THE PC PROPERLY. THERE IS A HIGH PROBABILITY THAT THE PHONE WILL BRICK IF THIS PROCESS IS INTERRUPTED SO MAKE SURE THAT THERE ARE NO PENDING WINDOWS UPDATES OR ANYTHING THAT WILL FORCE THE COMPUTER TO SHUT DOWN.

Voila, your phone is now rooted. Now we prepare to flash CM7,9 or 10 (whichever you prefer; I'm staying away from CM10 as JB isn't fully stable just yet). I flashed mine with CM9, so we'll be using that for this tutorial as we know it works with the unlocking.

  1. Download 2ndInit from here -
    http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1032212 - IF YOU ALREADY HAVE CYANOGENMOD ALREADY INSTALLED, THIS IS NOT NECESSARY

  2. Pop that onto your phone, enable non-market apps to be installed, turn on USB Debugging (Settings -> Applications -> USB Debugging) and start up the app. Click the one single button in the middle and we now have CWM (ClockWorkMod) installed.

  3. Download the most recent CM9 Nightly by quarx2k and the CM9 GAPPS here - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1618904 - and put them onto the root of your SD card. Then download "ICS_Defy_softunlock_v1.3(EPU_U_00.59.01).zip " and " Baseband_change(EP93_U_00.59.01).zip " provided in this link - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1483297 - and copy those files onto the root of your SD card. Those who wanted to go to CM7, download "GB_Defy_softunlock_v1.3(EPU_U_00.59.01).zip" instead

  4. Power down the phone and turn it back on. Wait for a blue LED to appear at the top left of your phone and press Volume- when it does.

  5. When the recovery screen pops up with the rabid rabbit at the bottom, navigate through the menu with the volume buttons and select the highlighted option with the power button. Select Recovery and then Custom Recovery.

  6. Now, it is VITAL that we do a phone backup here incase anything goes wrong. Nav to Backup and Restore and select Backup All.

  7. Once that's done, go to Wipe data/factory reset and then wipe the cache/dalvik cache

  8. Once that's done, go to Install zip from sdcard and select choose zip from sdcard and select the CM9 ROM that you downloaded earlier.

  9. Boot up your phone and if it doesn't work (stuck in boot loop, black screen after Motorola logo, etc) then redo steps 4-9 (skip 6)

  10. If the phone is booting up correctly, then power down the phone again, and enter 2ndInit by pressing the power- button when the blue LED flashes

  11. This time, install the GAPPS you downloaded earlier to install Google Play, etc

  12. Now we can apply the software unlock by installing "Baseband_change…" first and then "ICS_Defy_softunlock…" after.

  13. Wipe the cache when you are done, go to advanced and then wipe the dalvik cache.

  14. Power down the handset once you have finished, pop in your non-Telstra simcard and hooray! Your handset is unlocked.

HAVE FUN, OZBARGAINERS

Comments

    • 7zip can unzip it. Or WinRAR, at rarlabs.com

  • I tried 7zip, no luck. does the firmware.z01 file have to be downloaded too? the initial post said not to worry about it. I assume both files have to be unzipped before flashing? or do we flash the zip files into the phone?

  • ok got it! winRAR did the job. got firmware.sbf now, but what's the firmware.z01 file for?

    • The firmware.z01 is part of that firmware.sbf, it is just broken into 2 files for I think compression or some reason like that. So you need both files to extract it.

    • You have to download both files. It is one zip file split up into two. The .z01 file needs to be in the same folder as the .zip file. WinRAR or winzip will look at both files and unzip them both into one file.

      If you got the .sbf from only one zip file, don't use it! Delete it and download the .z01 first.

  • so I flash just the firmware.sbf, which is extracted from the firmware.z01 AND firmware.zip. I think I got it now. thanks for info… now just waiting for this phone to arrive.

    Ordered on Friday, when do you think it will come? Live in Sydney.

    Also, just confirming, at the end, we flash the baseband changer, and ICS softunlock, in the same way we flash the ROM… and ICS softunlock works with CM10.

    • I ordered mine on a Friday, and it arrived to rural Victoria on the following Tuesday.

  • sorry last line should be "Also, just confirming, at the end, "Do we flash the baseband changer, and ICS softunlock, in the same way we flash the ROM? … and ICS softunlock works with CM10??

    • I'm not sure if the softunlock version here is compatible with CM10. I'm honestly not an expert on this, but actually putting CM9 didn't take very long, so I would say the safest way is to follow the guide and put CM9 on, with all the exact versions of software OP is talking about, then look at putting CM10 on afterwards. ICS isn't a bad version, and has all the bells and whistles that I missed in GB on my Galaxy Ace. If you don't mind any risks with stability, go for CM10 afterwards once your phone is unlocked and rooted.

      And yes, you add gApps, baseband and softunlock same way as the ROM.

  • Mine is being delivered in the next few hours.

    I'm going to install the classic CM 7.2 on it.

    According to whirlpool guys, it should be more stable, but I probably won't be able to run any ICS or JB apps unless I upgrade to CM 9,10

    • Seriously, CM9 is very stable. It hasn't skipped a beat with me in the last 2 weeks.

  • My only concern with cm9 is that my tpg sim won't work properly with it. (As someone has mentioned above). Apparently tpg Sims work with cm10. If I flash cm9 first, is it a simple process to flash over to cm10? I have read that the ics soft unlock has been confirmed to work on JB, so was leaning towards flashing cm10 first. Is it easy to flash back to cm9 then? Help!

    • That was me with the problem. And other people have had the problem too, but I have no idea if it is the sim card or just being unlucky. It is quite easy to go to cm9 or cm10. You just go to the boot menu and wipe everything and install the zip files as you did before. Only thing when going from cm9 to 10 or back down is you will lose all your data, so all messages and settings and all that.

      • Only thing when going from cm9 to 10 or back down is you will lose all your data, so all messages and settings and all that.

        Titanium Backup is worth EVERY SINGLE CENT! Backup all the things!

        • Why get TB when you can save money and get ROM Toolbox Pro instead :p

    • My Defy+ works with TPG sim after installing CM9.

      • Didn't think it was the TPG sim that caused the problems.

  • ok, thanks for all the help guys. My Defy plus should be in tomorrow and I think I've decided to go with CM10 first as it seems to be the go with TPG sim cards. It is also still actively being updated, unlike CM9, and is supposedly smoother. Got all the appropriate files downloaded and ready to go…Wish me luck!

  • ok, got the phone now, but Windows 7 is not recognising it when I plug it into the USB. Any ideas?

    • have you installed the correct drivers (32 or 64 bit?) from the third link in the description above?

  • yes, I have. I have checked my computer properties and it says 32 bit operating system so I installed the 32 bit one

    • Umm is the phone turned on? As if you installed the 32 bit one then it should work when turned on. But if you are flashing it, the program should say the phone is connected when it is in the boot flash mode thing.

    • Have you fiddled with any other phones on that computer? When I plugged it into mine, it was detected as a Samsung something or other, so the Motorola drivers weren't actually associated with the Defy. I had to change it in Device Manager.

  • we'll I tried installing the 64bit, and it said it was incompatible. I even installed the device manager from motorola website and it still doesn't work. The phone is turned on with USB set to mass storage. I wonder if it has something to do with the admin settings. Maybe it is restricting access. Any other ideas? otherwise, I'm gonna have to try doing it on another computer. For some reason, my old huawei phone doesn't connect to this PC either

    • ah….
      just plug it in. mass storage is to access the microSD card.

  • OK fixed it, the problem was that I was using the USB port on the BACK of the PC. For some reason the PC won't detect the device if it is plugged into the back. I plugged it to the front and voila! works! RSDLite still doesn't detect it, but I'm assuming it will once I pop it into recovery mode. Thanks for the suggestions!

    • Please let us know how you went with CM10, and also if possible, please provide the download links.

      • I provided the download links earlier with my CM10 install. Shouldn't be hard to find if you look through here.

  • Anyone know which places in sydney have 900mhz?

    I'm going to try some suburbs tomorrow on optus and see if it works. I'll use the phone to post screenshots.

    According to the optus coverage map http://www.optus.com.au/network/mobile/coverage?display=&net… my area already has 900mhz??? However, on the tower list, which probably hasn't been updated, it only states 2100mhz… But clearly i'm not getting 900mhz because i only get one bar…

    So, I'm not sure how to test it because it only turns up with one name in the network list. This is on my huawei sonic and x1. both 900/2100mhz phones… So I'd have to move to a regional area..

    Unless anyone has a hack to turn off 2100mhz?


    Wait a min………… Okay, this part should be in a new reply.

    Or it could be that huawei has bad reception.. x_X lol. I am definitely I'm getting 3 to 4 bars on the defy+ on optus.

    Anyway, if you guys have some way I can test it, I can help, but I can't go too far into regional australia…


    Just some extra information.

    It doesn't connect to telstra when baseband is changed to 900mhz/2100mhz. So, not sure if this means anything because it won't even detect the telstra network. Whether it is using 900mhz is another question…

  • +1

    Ok updated to CM9. Had to adjust the manually set the timezone.. Apparently it put me in Hawaii. I looked outside the window and was disappointed.

    Only problem now is when i enable tethering the wifi hotspot doesn't seem to appear. Using internet on the phone itself is fine.

    • more info: i am able to connect via wifi to networks on the phone. Just no wifi appears when I turn on teethering. Tried aeroplane mode off/on, FoxFi said no internet detected. Tried all 3 password types

      Sounds like an Provider thing. Did their form thing but wasnt sent any network packages to install.

      EDIT: Ok working after i reset the APN.. and set it up again.. with MMS.. even though i would probably not use it.

  • +2

    Outstanding effort by LolwutMikka and great follow up by Forgot69. This is the first Android phone I flashed (cheap enough to not worry too much about bricking)and it worked first go by following the instructions.

    I installed CM9 and GApps from OPs links and Baseband Switcher and soft unlock from forgot69. I have a couple of issues - the phone itself is fully operational and is unlocked, but it takes a long time to boot and a couple of times it got stuck on startup, had to take the battery out to reset.

    I also did not get any option to change the baseband from Telstra to Optus, should I even bother? Its hardware is 850/2100 UMTS, unsure what the baseband change will benefit. Anyway I get much better reception on Optus with this phone now compared to any other I have tried.

    • +1

      You should be able to change the baseband in system settings and go to advanced and it should be all the way at the bottom. Up to you if you want to change it. I think by default it is set to europe which is 900/2100.

      • That worked thanks

    • too true. ^_^

      either way, even if it is using 900 MHz. we wont ever know until optus turns off 2100 MHz like telstra.

  • LolwutMikka,
    Thanks very much for the instructions. I unlocked my phone and I'm using it with TPG (optus) network but there seems to be some kind of a problem with data services. All the data services would stop working after few minutes and I have to reboot the phone to get everything working again.
    Can you please provide suggestions? I'm very disappointed that I got into this. Is there any other OS I can install if CM9 has a bug as suggested here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1691017&pag…?
    I'm very new to Android world so it would begreat if you could provide some technical instructions.
    Thanks

    • If you read through the responses I had the same problem. When you lose data, can you make phone calls or texts? If you can't then it was the same problem as mine and a few other people have had it on xda. I just installed CM10 and that fixed it. I left instructions and a link earlier but any questions just ask.

      • thanks very much flameinfren…all sorted after installing CM10

        • No worries, keep me updated on how it goes.

        • I spoke too early…my phone now keeps rebooting randomly. Even when I'm in the middle of a call it just reboots. No idea how to deal with this…help!

        • Could try the process all over again. But my phone kept rebooting when I first put it on, but it also kept rebooting when I had the stock telstra software and rom on there. Eventually my phone has stopped. Although about once every second day it will randomly reset. It turns right back on, so I haven't really worried about it. I presume later revisions of CM10 will deal with it. Although if you find what causes it do let me know. But my phone is working and I have done enough research into the first problem to last a life time, so unless it annoys me I probably won't look into it too much.

        • Do a data/factory reset and then wipe the cache/dalvik cache and reflash your ROM and GAPPS. Some people say to flash a ROM twice and always check the MD5 of any downloaded ROM. If the issue persists after that, data/factory reset and then wipe the cache/dalvik cache and reflash CM9.

        • So far it hasn't rebooted for more than a day now. I changed the Baseband Selection to Optus by going to Settings -> Advanced and it hasnt rebooted since. Before it was set to Europe… hope this helps

        • Somehow my phone started rebooting again. it would sit there reboot itself every few minutes randomly. I did exactly what you said factory reset, then wipe the cache/dalvik cache and refleshed ROM and GAPPS. Surprisingly it continued rebooting the same way and suddenly it stopped after 2 days of madness and it hasnt rebooted since 16 hours?
          What am I suppose to do? should I take it back to Telstra shop and ask them to replace it as it could be a hardware issue? I'm just scared that they will say that I have voided the warranty because I fleshed it with a different ROM.
          Please help…

  • LolwutMikka,

    Thanks for sharing this , my son is very happy with his new defy, thanks again

  • +1

    Thanks for this. Another success.

  • I followed your unlocikng process but some how with cm9 display is not working well . Any clue ?

    unlocking process is gr8 but because of screen flickring I canot use the phone .

    Is anybody out thre having same issue . any suggetions ?

    Krezy

    • +1

      Restore to factory, wipe cache/dalvik, reflash ROM, unlock again

  • Thanks lolwutmikka . Reflash rom = first six steps?

  • +1

    Thanks Lolwutmikka and forg0t69! I just flashed CM9 and it works with my TPG sim card. Almost made a mistake at step 7 on flashing, where I wipe cache partition>wipe cache, then had to go to Advanced> wipe Dalvik cache…

    was a little confused where to find the wipe dalvik cache option…. so thought I'd clarify for everyone here.

    Thanks again, I'm loving CM9! so much better than the stock ROM!
    Does anyone know where to get Swype? That's the only thing I miss from the stock ROM.

    • You should be able to sign up for the beta here: http://beta.swype.com/
      Not sure if there's a waiting period anymore. Regardless, it's worth any wait!

  • ok, I'll try that… how about this though?
    http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1705258

    • You can try with the apk but a real account will be better in the long run for updates they send out.

  • firmware.z01 download is veeeeeeery slow (<5KB/s; firmware.zip is at 50KB/s). any mirrors?

  • +1

    just found out, by sheer incompetence, that there is no need to put the phone in recovery mode to flash it; RSD does it automatically for you (at least the v3.5.1 I'm using does).

    • Oooook… and I'm officially stuck. On the boot logo.

      I tried:

      • rebooting a myriad of times. plugged to the computer. unplugged. with and without sim and sd cards in, in every permutation possible.
      • reflashing the SBFs, and then rebooting all again.

      No avail. I don't think the phone is broken because the logo animation is alive. Oh, I've also tried waiting it out. Doesn't go anywhere.

      How did I get here? I followed all the steps a first time around, successfully and without a hitch, but when it came to popping in the non-telstra sim (i.e. tpg), it kept asking for a sim network unlock pin. I took this to mean that I hadn't in fact unlocked it, started it all over again, aaaaand… got stuck :|

      help?

      • Go to the default motorola repair menu thingy. (By pressing the power button and down on the volume keys and when the android and triangle pops up, you press both the up and down keys) and you do a factory wipe and then after that is done you can reflash the sbf and it boots. This is what I did, I said it earlier. More or less you just have to wipe it first before you do the first steps. Glad I wasn't the only one to make that mistake lol. Anyway that should do it. So wipe it with that menu and then flash it.

        • Did you turn that around in 4mins?? Awesome!!

          That did it to get me unstuck (didn't know about pressing both up and down vol buttons).

          BUT… I'm still bewildered by an unyielding "SIM network unlock PIN" :[

          It's a TPG SIM, and I've already tested it to work in other unlocked phones. And I did set the baseband on the Defy+ to be Optus' (i.e. 900/2100).

        • +1

          YES!! I got it! If you're stuck like I was, do not despair; there is LED at the end of the tunnel. (or maybe it's just me)

          Here's what was wrong: I didn't the difference btw dalvik cache and cache partition. I still don't, but who cares?! I can call people now!!

        • It works w/o changing the baseband setting to Australia, but I wonder whether there is any performance difference due to some calibration.

        • my phone kept rebooting randomly until I changed the baseband to Australia so its definitely worth it.

        • Sweet glad you got it working mate. And yeah I had to do some research to figure out those buttons.

        • I have a question regarding the charge level. Not sure if anyone is experiencing the same thing but when I plug the phone in for charging overnight it never goes beyond 85% and that number seems to be going down every day. Can anyone please suggest something to help improve the battery life? I always keep Wifi and Bluetooth off unless using it…I downloaded a couple of apps to better manage the memory usage and to improve battery life which are running all the time.
          I also noticed that the phone runs at a very highest memory usage level even when there is not much running…

        • never goes beyond 85% and that number seems to be going down every day

          Follow insturctions in this app - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nema.batte…

          I also noticed that the phone runs at a very highest memory usage level even when there is not much running

          This app required a little learning/reading. Worth the effort - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1179809

          I always keep Wifi and Bluetooth off unless using it…I downloaded a couple of apps to better manage the memory usage and to improve battery life which are running all the time.

          If you manually enable things as you need them, ditch any power saver apps. They'll likely take more power to monitor than anything else.

  • thnks mate
    your a legend

  • I unlocked mine today. I used CM10 (JellyBean) with latest GoogleApps (Gapps), and the ICS soft unlocked worked without any problems.

    The interface is more like Ice Creame Sandwich, however the kernel says JellyBean…? Anyways, I am using my TPG sim now, and it works great ! …and yeah..data services are also working…didn't have to do any settings…everything was automatic… :)

  • hi , can I just ask which build Cm10 you used cos I am in trouble of unlocking the CM10 1109 build , it stuck in the bootloop or the message: Adroid is upgrading…. starting apps….

    the files: CM10-20121109-NIGHTLY-mb526, gapps-jb-20121011-signed. Baseband_change(EP93_U_00.59.01) i tried the ICS_Defy_softunlock_v1.3(EPU_U_00.59.01) , no luck ! then 2NTBOOT_Defy_softunlock(EPU_U_00.59.01), same!

    any help? someone.

    • I used the cm10-20120924. I am unafamiliar with the other one. I did provide a link up above. Also I am not familiar with that 2ndboot one, I used the ICS

      • Thanks very much for your reply. I will try that build , by the way ,any experience of dropping data connection ?

        cheers

        • I haven't had any data connection drops since using cm10. Once every few days it will reboot on me for no reason. But I have not looked into why it does that.

        • +1

          hi mate , you should try the CM 10 1109 build which is great very stable and fast! no data drops at all no reboot prob.

          http://quarx2k.ru/cm10-2ndboot-nightly-defy(+)/

        • I have had the phone reboot a lot when using certain apps that chew through the processor.

          I think it's due to the phone being an overclocked Defy, I set it to a maximum of 800mhz and it works fine in these circumstances.

          Try testing it, if you aren't satisfied, keep it overclocked at 1000mhz.

        • @fire-hifi

          How did you solve the unlock issue on CM10 1109 build?

          There are others on xda-developers reporting the same problem with unable to unlock using 1109 build. Only way was to re-flash 1102.

    • I used the CM10 2nd Nov (downloaded from the above link).

      • Briefly, what is involved to go from CM9 to CM10? Does your data and setup survive, or do you have to start again? Did you use Titanium back-up and restore.
        I am curious to give it a go.
        I find on CM9 that it works great some of the time and gets very slow at others, then needs a re-boot. I am also getting random restarts every couple of days or so.

        • Sorry, no idea about going from CM9 to CM10. In my case I went straight to CM10.

        • To Upgrade from CM9 to CM10 you better backup your apps , then do completely clean install.

          otherwise it will be lots of probs. I have done numerous installs so far, from CM9 CM10, different build as well, I found the CM 10 is the best so far, stable and fast, like my nexus 7 .

        • Thanks. What do you think the best approach to back-up would be?

        • From what I can gather the titanium pro would probably be best to use to back up, as that way you can back up messages and all that too. Although I have had no experience with it.

        • By the way, how long the battery can last just with the 3G?

        • Probably a few days (2-3) with the data turned off.
          You can get better battery life with 2G only but I don't recommend it because the difference in voice quality is somewhat noticeable.

          Just use Clockwork Mod recovery to backup everything.

        • With data turned off and the phone just sitting there doing nothing, I'm quite sure I've hit a week.

          It's not very useful in that state though! :)

  • Has anyone managed to get this to work using a Mac? We don't have any Windows in the house, and this all looks a bit much for a non-Microsoft Machead like me.
    Or, if anyone in Melb can install CM10 on my Plus for some beer money…

    • Where abouts in Melbs are you branners? I'm in St Kilda.

      • Eastern burbs but will be in Brighton Wed night. Tweet me @philbranagan

    • You could try parallel/bootcamp, but I don't know if that will make an impact

    • Download the free VMWare Player and setup Windows XP.. but you need a Windows installation CD/ISO image handy

  • +1

    Thanks so much OP and forgot 69! Worked beautifully :)

  • Updated to CM9

    1) The initial boot after you update the firmware took 4X longer than normal for me. Boot is relatively fast afterwards.
    2) Sometimes i have issue turning on a wifi hotspot. Turning it on does nothing other than show an icon.
    3) Sometimes i loose 3G data till i restart the phone.
    3) If you turn off data over network, viewing Data Useage will cause "Data Useage" page to lockup and it is inaccessible till you. Have to Click More and turn back on data in Mobile networks for that page to work again.
    4) Its slightly harder to pickup calls compared to my older phone on android 2.2
    5) The default clock alarm is not a nice ring to wake up too. Sounds like someone screaming.
    6) One reboot so far when i was too lazy to set a caching for an app and it chewed through all my memory then reset my phone.
    7) Popped Telstra Sim into another phone. Activated with no problem. (calls starting from $1.20, data at $2/mb)
    8) Two phones = double the hungry jacks app shakes for double the coupons. Premium burgers are yum ^^. Yet to claim two phones at the same time. haha i tell you how i go when i try.
    9) Got a $1 left warning on Telstra sim. Lol probably from data useage. Google store not even set up. From Telstra what you expect.

  • THank you for the guide :)

  • Just want to say many thanks to LolwutMikka you're legend.!

    Followed the procedures and everything went smoothly.

    Only problem I have now is I couldn't seem to run the "File Manager", which is supposed to be a CyanogenMod's special app. It says couldn't get root or something along that line.. strange..

  • …Has someone used this site (http://www.code-unlocking.com/) or anyother preferred cheap site to UNLOCK the phone - as the price is only $6.49..and if it' good site - then it's going to be quick.

    Being a non-tech I am scared to play with the operating system though it seems with the reviews it' easy.

    • Payment is thru PayPal…so you can always request a full refund… :)

      • hmm..worth a try then..isn't it?

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