[MDA III, XDA III, PDA2k, 9090 Software Upgrading] Loomis:
Cingular SX66 Upgrade - a complete "How-to"

I am not associated with XDA-Developers, but these guys do a lot of good work. If this post helps you, please support their efforts by making a small contribution to XDA-Developers forum – I did. This is a long post and I wouldn't blame moderators for shortenning it. If this is the case, the entire procedure is available on my website:

http://www.souljernation.com/files/SX66Upgrade.doc

Well, I was one of the lucky winners of a Siemens SX66 "AT&T" variant, sold by Cingular, which can not be upgraded using the Siemens SX66Update.exe program. Each time I try, I would get a COUNTRY ID ERROR.

SO, after loads of research, I finally put all of the pieces together to get the thing upgraded to Version 1.33.10 with Radio Stack Version 1.12.00 and Bluetooth stack 1.0.0.3900

This configuration is working pretty well for me and has solved a bunch of the little annoyances of the 1.32 version of the ROM and 1.02 Radio ROM.

Here is the procedure for upgrading – get used to going through the initialization process – you’ll have to do it several times. I am not sure if a full backup is a good idea since it will overwrite the BT stack after you upgrade it. But it is definitely a good idea after you are finished upgrading and getting the PDA restored to the way you use it.

You will need the following files which can easily be found using Google:

Siemens’ upgrade package: SX66update.exe

Hacked Upgrade utility: MaUpgradeUt_noID.exe

Blue Angel Flash Tools: BAFlashTools.zip

Radio ROM version 1.12.00: R1.12.00.zip

Restart Radio utility: restartradio.exe

Broadcom Bluetooth stack cabinet: BroadcomCorp_BT1.0.0.3900.cab

Now, you do not want to search all over the internet for these, so here is a nice clean package that contains everything all ready to go…. LMSX66Upgrade.zip

http://www.souljernation.com/files/LMSX66upgrade.zip

You can extract this file to its own directory or build the file set by downloading the files individually.

Here is how to build the file set:

1)	Extract the Siemens SX66Update file.exe to a new directory called SX66Upgade (using winzip or winrar). Add the file MaUpgradeUt_noID.exe to this directory.

2)	Extract the BAFlashTools.zip file to another new directory called BAFlashTools.

3)	Extract the R1.12.00.zip to the BAFlashTools directory.

4)	Don’t worry about the BT stack and resetradio for now – just keep track of them.

If you downloaded my fileset you can skip all of that stuff and just extract it to a temp directory somewhere on your PC.

Before proceeding, make sure that you have a good connection and partnership from PC to SX66, that the main battery is fully charged and that you have the power supply plugged in to the cradle. These are all very important steps!!

Remove the device from the cradle.

Start the upgrade –

Manually trigger a bootload by holding the record button and the power button and pushing the reset. Your device will say SERIAL, but the back light will not be on, so it will be difficult to see.

Plug the device into the cradle and the display should change to USB.

Go into the SX66Update folder on your PC and run the MaUpgradeUt_noID.exe and follow instructions – don’t worry that it does not display the current software versions.

In about 1 minute or less, you should see a bar graph displaying progress. If the program is inactive for longer than a minute or two, restart the PC and try again.

Once the ROMS are updated, the system will reboot, go through the initialization process, but don’t waste any time because the system will get wiped again after the radio upgrade.

Wait for the device to go though the program installation and become usable and partner it with the PC again. (I know, this is tedious – but, hey, we’re geeks, right?)

Next, open the BAFlashTools directory and run BaUpgradeUt.exe. This will take you through the same process, but only flash the radio ROM with the 1.12 stack.

Once complete, the system will go through another complete initialization. Suffer through it, plug it in to the cradle, and partner it with your PC yet another time.

Using the Explorer option of ActiveSync, create a temporary folder on the SX66 and copy restartradio.exe and BroadcomCorp_BT1.0.0.3900.cab to this new folder.

Using the PDA, go into the temp folder and run restartradio.exe by taping it once. This will shut down the BT stack. Look for the telltale “X” by the antenna ICON in the menu bar.

Next, tap the BroadcomCorp_BT1.0.0.3900.cab file and it will self-install the new BT stack. This file will delete itself once installed.

FINALLY, do a soft reset by pushing the reset button and you are done.

NOTE: the Bluetooth stack is integrated into the system ROM. If you do a hard reset or the battery dies and the system memory is lost, the BT stack will revert to the old version.

Good Luck!!