Update: I don’t have a tip jar, as I support myself in what I say. That being said, the below would normally cost you $30 - $60 elsewhere. Therefore, if you were going to spend some cash, and this saved it, please use that money to donate for the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. I’d like to recommend these that I support (both images will direct you to the appropriate donation page):

[Updated Oct. 10 2005 to freshen up the directions... here is the original article for unlocking an AudioVox 5600.]

Background: The following comes from my scouring of the Internet to find out how to unlock an AudioVox 5600 (or SMT5600) that was locked to the AT&T (Cingular Blue) network. I had to do this as Cingular does not unlock their phones on the AT&T network, and I needed to put in a local SIM while on a trip to Brazil. T-Mobile will apparently unlock your phones by just calling, and is probably a safer way to go. But for everyone else who is stuck, and doesn’t want to rely on possibly dodgey sites that ask for money via paypal, continue on!

Note: actually doing the following probably voids your warranty (I don’t know as I never read it), and botching it could well render your phone unusable. But it worked for me, even with a few missteps I didn’t include here.

Microsoft people: This doesn’t work for Magneto, but apparently upgrading to Magneto seems to unlock your phone anyway… try it first. BTW, if you’re thinking of upgrading, I don’t recommend it.

You need the following three files:

1. aeconfig.zip
2. resetSecurity.zip
3. SPV Services

Or to save you some time (and in case the above are down), you can just get them all in one big zip: UnlockAudioVox5600Apps.zip

What you’ll need:

• A SIM card on the network your AudioVox is locked to. For example, if you’re locked to AT&T (Cingular Blue network) then you’ll need an AT&T SIM card. For people who bought their phone off e-bay or something, find a friend, as you need one of these to proceed!
• A SIM card on some other network to make sure things worked. Any network will do. Again, find a buddy.

Here’s what you do:

1. Plug your AudioVox into your computer via the USB cable that came with it. Open an explorer window via ActiveSync and browse the top level directory of the SmartPhone… you should see directories like Temp and Storage.
2. Extract aeconfig.zip, say to C:\unlock5600. DO NOT SIMPLY OPEN THE .ZIP AND TRY TO COPY FILES TO YOUR SMARTPHONE, IT DOES NOT WORK! You’ll get a folder named “unlock-all” which contains two directories, StartMenu and Temp, along with a manual. The manual is almost correct for the 5600. What you want to do is:
   1. Put the “Disable Security” file in StartMenu under \Storage\Windows\Start Menu\ in your 5600.
   2. Put “AEConfig.exe” and “DisableSecurity.xml” in Temp in \Temp in your 5600. Do not reboot your 5600, as it will erase these files in \Temp!
   3. Go to Start on your 5600, then select Disable Security and run it. Phase 1 done. If you don’t see it via the start menu, use the File Manager to run it. Sometimes it takes a bit for the Start Menu to re-read the directory and include things.
3. Open resetSecurity.zip and extract the files on your computer somewhere. I’ll say C:\unlock5600, but feel free to replace that with anything you like.
4. On your computer, go to Start -> Run and type “cmd” for a DOS prompt. Change directories to the directory you put the files of resetSecurity (e.g. cd c:\unlock5600 using our example).
5. Run RapiConfig as follows from the cmd prompt:
   % RapiConfig.exe /p ResetSecurity.xml
   This will unlock your phone to install new apps (needed for the next step).
6. Confirm it works by putting “CheckLock.exe” in the \Temp dir of your 5600 and running it by going to Start -> File Manager on your AudioVox and selecting CheckLock.exe under \Temp. It should say “Your phone is not locked.”
   Phase 2 End.
7. Open up SPV-Services.zip and copy the files somewhere (say c:\unlock5600).
8. Copy the Cert.cab into \Temp of your smartphone
9. From your smartphone Start -> File Manager, browser to \Temp and run Cert.cab. Install the program.
10. From your computer, run SPVServices.exe. Click on the SIMLock Toggle button and type AGREE. Don’t worry about the “Doesn’t work on AudioVox” as this did for this purpose.
11. Unlock your AudioVox by clicking on the button. End Phase 3.
12. Test out your new unlocked AudioVox with a friend’s SIM card on another network (I used T-Mobile). You will need to power down the phone, take out the card, put the new one in, and power up. If you see “Network locked, enter unlock code” then something didn’t work. If you see the normal home page with the carrier’s name, you’re golden.

Troubleshooting:

• Unknown error -2147467259 in read operation. I don’t know why this happens. Some people have reported success by re-trying all of the previous steps after rebooting the SmartPhone. Others have suggested it’s because Cert.cab wasn’t installed, just copied over to \Temp. If you get this, please report it in the comments and let us know if you’re able to figure it out. UPDATEA post on the SPV Developers Forum appears to answer this by describing how to: resolve the read error by manually changing two registry keys. A file is included in the post to update the registry. Hat tip to Volkmar!
• Can’t copy files to SmartPhone. Remember, you have to extract files to some directory, then copy them. You can’t just copy directly… some lame bug in Windows.

Update: I don’t have a tip jar, as I support myself in what I say. That being said, the below would normally cost you $30 - $60 elsewhere. Therefore, if you were going to spend some cash, and this saved it, please use that money to donate for the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. I’d like to recommend these that I support (both images will direct you to the appropriate donation page):

Every now and then, somebody asks me why I do search. There are lots of cool things to do out there… writing the latest game, creating a photo-sharing service, etc. But search is one of the few that teaches me new things. Search answers my questions.

For example, as I’ve posted before, I’m heading down to Brazil. Also, I have a new AudioVox 5600, aka Typhoon, on the AT&T network — yes, it’s owned by Cingular, but it’s still AT&T. What I’d like to do when I’m down there is buy a pre-paid SIM card so I can make relatively cheap calls home and to anyone local. Seems reasonable. So, I need to call AT&T and have them unlock my phone so I can use it on the Brazilian network.

Except they won’t. Nope. They don’t give out the codes, and they don’t even give out the names of who would know how to get the codes to customer service. See, Cingular wants you to buy a new locked Cingular phone and suck down a new 2-year contract, and migrate over to the Cingular network instead of the AT&T network. So yes, this means that Cingular merged with AT&T Wireless the same way that you might merge with a donut. You eat it, chew it up, swallow it, slowly digest it, and, well, you know what happens to whatever you don’t need.

So, what am I do to? I could pay 20 GBP for some service and take it. I could potentially search CraigsList for someone who can do it. Or, I can type in something like unlock audiovox 5600 free into MSN Search and… hey, check out those first two results on the Cingular forums!

So, the second result almost solves the problem. However, it assumes you have a couple other programs, which you then need to find using a search engine. It’s kinda like an internet scavenger hunt. Well, for people who found this page, I’ll cut to the chase:

Note: actually doing the following probably voids your warranty (I don’t know as I never read it), and botching it could well render your phone unusable. But it worked for me, even with a few missteps I didn’t include here.

You need the following three files:

1. aeconfig.zip
2. resetSecurity.zip
3. SPV Services

Or to save you some time (and in case the above are down), you can just get them all in one big zip: UnlockAudioVox5600Apps.zip

OK, now what? Again, sadly, there isn’t a single page that gives good detail on how to unlock the 5600, at least not that I could find with MSN Search or Google. And I don’t bother much with Yahoo :).

Again, to save some time searching, here’s what you do:

1. Plug your AudioVox into your computer via the USB cable that came with it. Pop open a browser window and browse the top level directory of the smartphone… you should see directories like Temp and Storage.
2. Extract aeconfig.zip. You’ll get a folder named “unlock-all” which contains two directories, StartMenu and Temp, along with a manual. The manual is almost correct for the 5600. What you want to do is:
   1. Put the “Disable Security” file in StartMenu under \Storage\Windows\Start Menu\ in your 5600.
   2. Put “AEConfig.exe” and “DisableSecurity.xml” in Temp in \Temp in your 5600. Do not reboot your 5600, as it will erase these files in \Temp!
   3. Go to Start on your 5600, then select Disable Security and run it. Phase 1 done.
3. Pop open resetSecurity.zip and extract the files on your computer somewhere. I’ll say C:\unlock5600, but feel free to replace that with anything you like.
4. On your computer, go to Start -> Run and type “cmd” for a DOS prompt. Change directories to the directory you put the files of resetSecurity (e.g. cd c:\unlock5600 using our example).
5. Run RapiConfig as follows:
   % RapiConfig.exe /p ResetSecurity.xml
   This will unlock your phone to install new apps (needed for the next step).
6. Confirm it works by putting “CheckLock.exe” in the \Temp dir of your 5600 and running it by going to Start -> File Manager on your AudioVox and selecting CheckLock.exe under \Temp. It should say “Your phone is not locked.”
   Phase 2 End.
7. Open up SPV-Services.zip and copy the files somewhere (say c:\unlock5600).
8. Copy the Cert.cab into \Temp of your smartphone
9. From your smartphone Start -> File Manager, browser to \Temp and run Cert.cab. Install the program.
10. From your computer, run SPVServices.exe. Click on the SIMLock Toggle button and type AGREE. Don’t worry about the “Doesn’t work on AudioVox” as this did for this purpose.
11. Unlock your AudioVox by clicking on the button. End Phase 3.
12. Test out your new unlocked AudioVox with a friend’s SIM card on another network (I used T-Mobile). You will need to power down the phone, take out the card, put the new one in, and power up. If you see “Network locked, enter unlock code” then something didn’t work. If you see the normal home page with the carrier’s name, you’re golden.

So, that’s a decent number of steps… but it’s in painful detail, for someone who might not be a 5600 hacker and knows where to find and use all these files. Search isn’t a magic bullet; it won’t find The Answer if The Answer doesn’t exist in a single page. Sometimes it doesn’t even find the single page. But it will provide you the path to get there… and thus I’m psyched that the tool I help build was able to teach me, and now potentially teach you, how to unlock an AudioVox SMT 5600.

Hey Cingular: Bite me.