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 the three I support (both images will direct you to the appropriate donation page):

the rolling duffel project

The following instructions were taken from an earlier post I made, but to make it more to the point and to avoid eventual blog rot, I’ve included it as a first-class page on the blog. I’ve also made some updates to make the instructions a bit more clear.

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

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.
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.

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.

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 the three I support (both images will direct you to the appropriate donation page):

the rolling duffel project