[Upgrading, Modifying and Unlocking] duttyskank:
Posting this for others due to the lack of response received when upgrading, and the glut of sometimes confusing information required to wade through. Not everyone wants to spend hours messing around with flashing. It would help us all if people were more open in sharing knowledge. Many ask what may seem to be obvious questions, not because they are lazy or stupid, but they want to get an EXPLICIT answer and be absolutely clear before damaging what is an expensive purchase.

PRE UPGRADE:

Device: HTC S21HT Diamond

Carrier: EMobile

Country: Japan

ROM: 1.73.881.8

Radio: 104.25.04

3G: W-CDMA

POST UPGRADE:

ROM: Dutty's WWE v3.4

Radio: 1.00.25.05

HardSPL: UNSIGNED Olinex 1.40 (MUST BE UNSIGNED!!!)

3G: W-CDMA

PREPARATION

Okay after wading thru tons of pages to check and double check, essentially I followed the ModMyDiamond.info upgrade guide. This is probably the clearest and has screenshots.

Ensure you read the guide thoroughly before launching your upgrade. Download all the required tools, and I checked all tools for recent versions. Also check the correct upgrade procedures for your particular 3G technology, i.e., CDMA, W-CDMA etc.

Write down any connection, email, internet access and MMS settings. Most of them are on the web anyway, and the XDA Developers Network thread.

1. BACK UP DATA

Follow guide using back up software

2. DUMP YOUR CURRENT VENDOR ROM (OPTIONAL)

You can dump your current vendor ROM if you wish to flash back to it for warranty purposes. Or simply download one of the stock ROMs others have already uploaded.

3. UPGRADE TO HARD SPL (IMPORTANT)

This is to allow you to flash other ROMs other than the current vendors on your phone, and prevent your device from getting bricked. Unsigned Hard-SPL allows you to flash unsigned ROMs. Read the discussion on this for more details. Check the ROM thread of your choice to see which SPL you should use.

4. UPGRADE RADIO (OPTIONAL)

Upgrade your radio for more stability or various reasons. Read the discussions for any info on issues with your current vendor radio or other radios. Radio: 1.00.25.05 seems to be pretty stable. *DO NOT* flash radio without hard-spl first.

5. UPGRADE ROM

Upgrade ROM of your choice. You may choose another standard ROM, say English WWE purely because you are on a non-English ROM like me, or choose one of the cooked ROMs such as DuttyThroy's for stability, performance and additional applications. The choice is yours. Read the ROM threads before choosing and downloading.

DuttyThroy recommends a hard reset after each ROM flash. I didn't and all seems fine, but you may wish to follow his advice.

6. RESTORE YOUR BACKED UP DATA (If necessary)

*ISSUES

Some report the dreaded black screen or hanging during flashing. Black screen is NORMAL. Ensure your ActiveSync connection is green and status is synchronised. Switch off all power management, Anti-virus, screensavers etc, or anything that will interrupt the process. Always check for the confirmation prompt on your device. This threw me the first time and could not complete the process. Had to remove the battery to exit black screen. Subsequent attempts were fine. You may lose your ActiveSync connection and the flash application's progress bar may take some time to reach 100% but BE PATIENT! DO NOT DISCONNECT UNTIL THE DEVICE SOFT RESETS AND THE FLASH UTILITY INSTRUCTS YOU TO.

Connection Settings

My example is EMobile. Musato explains internet, band selection,settings here. Like Musato I chose not to receive EMobile mail, so this means we have to be on the EMB network and not EMNet. BTW, access point in this example is emb.ne.jp. This is not for the domain field. Just apply your own network details. Again, check the XDA Forum Network thread.

Enjoy your new toy!

LINKS

*Diamond Upgrade Guide (Main reference)

Complete Upgrading Guide

CDMA American Thread over at PPC-Geeks