Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Almost Screwed up!… - Upgrading KU250 Firmware.

While browsing trough the LG site on Monday for the LG KU250 user manual I got to know that they have released a LGMobile Updater Application for downloading Manual documents(PDF), Software and Phone Firmware Software.

Even though it appeared that the manual for KU250 is not available to download and the PC software version is also a bit older than the one I got on the CD came with mobile I noticed that this software supports firmware upgrading of KU250 to newest firmware. So I decided to do a firmware upgrade to my mobile.

In fact wanting to firmware upgrade despite the possibility of loosing user data such as SMS, Configuration data etc. is another story. The original s/w version available in the mobile was KU250_V10d. But as I have pointed in a previous post this has a problem when transferring files with long file names from a PC. At that time I tried to resolve this with local LG agent and failing to resolve, went ahead with a Full flash myself using LGMDP flashing software (Use LGMDP_Open) and v10c firmware (Credit goes to Dengel) found from some GSM community site. Of course at that time I had to try two or three times with a great risk of ending up with a bricked phone before getting the mobile flashed correctly. Even though this freed up blocked memory due to files transferred to phone, J2ME engine in v10c had some issues that prevent normal operation of Opera Mini 4 browser.

That is the story of my previous experience of flashing KU250. This time with new LGMobile Updater Application it seemed that the firmware is an straight forward operation. I removed MicroSD, SIM and connected phone using normal data cable and selected Start Upgrading…

PhoneUpgrade_1 PhoneUpgrade_2 PhoneUpgrade_3

IMG0235A

And.. Well It completed all right without any errors. But…

Houston, We have got a problem… Not a single character is displayed now… smile_sad

I tried again the same procedure but the same result. This time I copied .DZ file from the LGMobile Updater application’s data directory (This file is deleted as soon as upgrade completes) and flashed using the old LGMDP program yet the same result.

So then I tried flashing the old firmware back in order to rectify the problem.

Flash_7

It goes on Backing up NV…

Flash_1

Writing QCBL, AMSS bla bla.. rebooting and restoring NV..Flash_2

And erasing media…

Flash_3

But there is a problem erasing media files (Since some already open to display Battery charging up/ Battery Full display?) So tried again. This time battery charging is not displayed in mobile and There is a Yellow box over the LG logo saying Refreshing… (Media file missing to boot further?)

20012009(010)

However this goes trough all of the above steps and ultimately up to media downloading…Flash_5

And Module downloading…

Flash_6

If my memory is correct last time everything went well and flashing completed. But this time luck is definitely not on my side… Module download breaks in middle and phone keeps rebooting again and again… Seems no chance of re-flashing as it is now not even detected in the flasher. smile_confusedsmile_confusedsmile_confused So now I’m in a situation that until I flash those modules, it is not detected and without it’s being detected I can’t flash it…

However, fortunately I can yet go to Emergency download mode with 2+5+Power key combination.

Flash_4

However this time only subset of files is there and No Media Image/ Module Image selection option. So even though flashing completes the problem is not resolved. Then I did Selected Erase EFS option from the dropdown box (There is nothing else I can try right?.. smile_thinking) and that time it fixed the problem of rebooting. Then I again flashed in normal mode with Erase EFS option On. That time it went all well. and previous Firmware was restored but there was yet a problem that No Wallpaper files or any default media files. (Possible caused by incomplete NV backup - I noticed one with less number of entries in the NV backup directory)

However now I was pretty much sure that you have to delete the EFS in order to flash correctly and I went ahead with .DZ file with Erase EFS option. Phew.. Thank god everything went OK and I got my good old lovely mobile back again with original firmware… Wow.. now Opera Mini 4 works with no problem.. smile_teethsmile_teethsmile_shadessmile_shades

Guide to upgrade firmware in LG KU250 (Probably other models as well)

Try new LGMobile Updater Application. But this may end up your mobile screwed up if you are an unlucky person like me. smile_winkRemember to copy .DZ file while the flashing is in progress.

If above step had any issues, try re-flashing using LGMDP program with Erase EFS option in NV backup/restore. This will definitely erase SMS, Contacts, Other configuration settings etc. from the phone.

Files:

KU250-V10d-AUG-13-2007-MLY.dz

LGMDP_1_1_.5_Build_12.10_Release.zip

[Posted using Windows Live Writer on Windows 7 Beta.]

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

pls help me pls upload or pm me an ku380 dz file because my ku380 is corrupted hers my emal aladin2l@yahoo.com.ph many thank to those who can help me

cez said...

may i ask what is the difference between the upgraded one and the old one??

i am planning to upgrade my phone also but im afraid that i may not configure the phone correctly.

Unknown said...

@cez: As I have mentioned in the post the only noticeable difference except supported interface languages between firmware version 10c (Europe Open) and 10d (Malaysian version) is that 10c version's J2ME package has a some bug that Opera Mini4 does not work correctly. On the other hand I suppose Free storage memory in 10d is few KBs lower than 10c due to increased system image.
So the bottom line is, If the Firmware version is 10d or if it is different but somehow Opera Mini4 works or if you do not wish to use Opera at all then it is definitely not a good decision to try flashing your phone.
And even if you really want to do upgrade proceed at your own risk. Even though I'm a software engineer developing software for hand held devices I almost screwed things since mobile phone firmwares is definitely out of my domain.

shinichiconan said...

i followed your instructions and i i successfully upgraded my Lg ku250 v10a to v10d. however, i have a problem. when i open my phone, it says "unavailable wallpaper file". what will i do to fix it? help sir plss...