Hack the V710

Here's your chance to hack the V710 to restore all features...http://www.nuclearelephant.com/papers/v710hackers.html

http://www.nuclearelephant.com/papers/v710info.html


seems that our friends at Verizon and Motorola have helped us by crippling the phone

 

that's V710...

 

This may explain:

Papers
The Motorola v710: Verizon's New Crippled Phone
Jonathan A. Zdziarski
[email protected]

(You can find technical information on the v710 Info Page here)

[This is a copy of my article published in Pen Computing Magazine : Original Copy ]

Manufacture an amazing piece of technology and then cripple all of the good features so you can profit. This is how many v710 users describe their new Bluetooth-enabled phone from Verizon. The v710 appeared to be a truly amazing product from the manufacturer's initial feature list - Bluetooth support, Megapixel Camera, POP3 email, and Instant Messenger. That is, before Verizon decided to disable several of its features for what many believe (and what Verizon doesn't deny) was an effort to drive up revenue. If all you plan on doing is talking on the phone, you won't have any problems - the phone functions with all Verizon-approved hands-free devices. Then again, who would pay the hefty $519 list price for a phone if they just wanted to talk on it?

After buying the new v710, many consumers quickly discovered they were unable to perform several basic functions which other similarly equipped phones, from other carriers, were capable of doing. Simple functions, such as sending a phone book record to another phone or a picture to a laptop computer, exist only in some locked area of the v710 noone can access. This is because some critical Bluetooth profiles have been deactivated on the handset; primarily OBEX (Object Exchange) , OPP (Object Push Profile), and SPP (Serial Port Profile). These services are responsible for transferring photos and phone numbers or performing synchronization with a PC wirelessly. Lack of these feature has also caused many vehicles with Bluetooth support (such as the Prius, Acura TL, and BMW) to malfunction. The only sure-fire way to transfer anything to or from the phone, in fact, is to shell out $60 for a TransFlash memory card - and rumors are starting to circulate that Verizon is going to plug this hole in future firmware releases. Looking around for the POP3 email client or instant messenger? It was advertised as a capability by the manufacturer, but you won't find it either, because Verizon had those features switched off as well.

I decided to call up Verizon and get to the bottom of the matter, and engaged in a discussion with Verizon's Corporate Handset, Product Distribution, and Marketing honcho, Brenda Raney, asking targetted questions about many of these features and why they were not on the phone as expected. Apart from the usual "we never advertised these features" spiel, I was very shocked to see that Verizon was so up-front and open about their hostile attitude regarding consumers.

Q. Many people feel that Verizon has specifically disabled these features to force them to use your Get-it-Now and PIX Place service.

A. And your point is?

Q. Well, these features are available in phones from many other carriers, and people feel cheated.

A. Verizon does business unlike any other carrier, and we make no apologies for that. ... [Those features] don't work with our business model. Every customer is certainly entitled to their own feelings.

Q. Do you foresee that OBEX/OPP will be enabled anytime in the near future?

A. No.

Q. The average joe can go out and fork over $60 for a TransFlash card, which will allow them to transfer pictures, MP3s, whatever...and at no profit to Verizon...so why not just enable these features on the phone and give the customers a break?

A. That's where the security issue comes in.

What Security Issue? I had heard this story from Verizon, which was that they were investigating security issues with the phone, but this appeared only to be an afterthought in comparison with Verizon's profitability needs. The story didn't appear to hold water, and I got the feeling she understood that. Bluetooth has some basic front-line security designed to prevent someone from arbitrarily transferring files to/from the phone without performing a "bonding" ritual. On top of this, the v710 sports a "stealth mode" where it will remain invisible from discovery unless the owner specifically makes it visible (at 60-second intervals) so there's little chance a stranger will even know it's there let alone have the MAC address. If you're still concerned about Bluejacking, the Bluetooth radio can be shut off entirely with a couple of button presses, which is what most users do anyway to conserve power. If you want Fort Knox, you got it...and even if someone did Bluejack you, they'd have to be within smacking distance.

Q. So what would you say to the consumer who paid for this phone and expected to receive [these features]?

A. [When a customer buys a phone] there's a level of risk. ... We never advertised these features.... We have a fifteen day satisfaction guarantee.

Q. When this phone is released to other carriers, will you accept their ESNs if your customers want a fully-functioning phone?

A. We don't [activate] phones unless they're ours. If Motorola sells it to another carrier, it may be the a710 or the p710. That's not our phone.

Unfortunately this conversation only confirmed my belief that Verizon's customers were nothing but cattle to be rounded up.

Motorola PR, Monica Rohleder confirmed the condition of the phone: "The phone does support Bluetooth file transfer right now, but it is up to the carrier to decide whether it is something they will offer to their customers or not.". Monica has confirmed that OBEX will remain disabled unless Verizon changes their mind. This is somewhat good news, because it suggests the support is in the phone and just needs to be unlocked. Monica also told me that the firmware update they've been discussing for November is unrelated to OBEX, but is a Mobile Phonetools update to allow syncing with Mobile Phonetools over Bluetooth. There was apparently a bit of miscommunication within Motorola about this, and some customers were told full Bluetooth support was on the way - it isn't.

This isn't the first time customers have felt burned from Verizion. Verizon has developed a quite notorious reputation among mobile users for the revenue they drive from their DRM (digital rights management) campaign. While most other carriers allow you to do pretty much whatever you want with your phone, Verizon prefers to make money every time you transfer a picture, check your email, or do anything that could constitute a value-add. Verizon appears to be actively plugging loopholes as recently customers have found they can no longer email themselves ringtones or backgrounds. If you were able to send files to the person next to you using Bluetooth, you'd miss the privilege of using Verizon's PIX service (which costs $0.25 a picture). If you were able to use a true IM client for chatting, you'd only use up airtime (with free nights and weekends), and then how would you end up having to pay for Verizon's $4.95/mo TXT messaging subscription? The Verizon-provided IM client makes the unnecessary use of TXT messaging to send and receive messages, just as sending a picture through the network uses Verizon's unnecessary PIX service. If you want to do anything fun with that phone you just shelled out for, Verizon has made sure you are going to pay for it...that's the real security they seem to be concerned about.

And what about applications on the v710? Very little software is available for the new phone primarily because Verizon has continued in a long tradition of what many see as customer extortion by locking the phone's software capabilities. Verizon has joined some 35 smaller carriers to profit off of the consumer by pushing Brew on all of their phones. Brew is, to many consumers, a mediocre application platform designed to take their money. To many developers, it's a platform designed to crush free software, independent developers, and let mediocre corporate programmers stay employed. It's written by Qualcomm and designed specifically to enforce the consumer's dependence on the carrier, forcing them to purchase applications only through Verizon. Qualcomm's propaganda to the carrier makes its nature obvious: Brew Equals Revenue.

The version of Brew running on the v710 is locked to require every Brew application to be digitally signed (by Verizon) in order to run, and this signature is based on the handset's ESN (electronic serial number). What's the point of doing all this you ask? Qualcomm and Verizon stand behind their anti-piracy propaganda. It must be a mere coincidence that it also locks the consumer into purchasing any games or applications only from Verizon. This effectively locks out third party software manufacturers, allows Verizon to price fix, and snuffs out entirely the independent developer who would like to develop applications for the phone. There will never be such a thing as free software for Brew because it costs developers $4 per phone to digitally sign an application (with a minimum of 100 signatures), not to mention the hefty advance royalties developers are reporting to be charged by Qualcomm. But this is all coincidence. At any rate, Verizon is a dying breed - BREW is being rejected by many large carriers in many countries. KTF (Korea) has recently announced their plans to ditch BREW for a newer, more open standard (WIPI), and other carriers are likely to follow.

v710's Redeeming Value
Fortunately, if you can live with crippled Bluetooth and lack of POP3 email or a good IM client (or if you happen to be stuck in a Verizon contract), the v710 does sport some great improvements over other Verizon phones. The remaining features of the v710 include:


Excellent Reception: It's got a great radio. Most report they're able to pick up calls better than any other phone. If you are having reception problems at home or work, the v710 will most likely solve them.
Functional Bluetooth Dialup Networking Gateway: Fortunately, Verizon didn't disable the dialup network gateway, which allows you to make 14.4k data calls from your laptop or PDA via Bluetooth. This service can also be used to connect to Verizon's ExpressNetwork, providing subscribers with speeds up to 144k. Apparently Verizon doesn't seem as concerned about a stranger using up your minutes as they do downloading your pictures.
Enhanced Voice Dial: At first, I spent a good bit of time fumbling through the manual to find the training mode for voice dial, come to find that it didn't need it. The voice recognition chip used in the v710 doesn't require any vocal training, and will accurately recognize your phone book entries.
Functional TransFlash Card Slot: TransFlash is the new portable memory standard for mobile phones. The v710 has a TransFlash card slot, allowing you to transfer MP3s or Photos to/from the v710. The optional TransFlash card includes an SD-Card adapter making it relatively simple to connect it up to a PC or PDA.
MP3 Player: The v710 doubles as an MP3 player. A set of stereo ear buds is available that play in true stereo (not mixed mono), and the quality is good. If you can handle the extra battery load and the cost of a TransFlash card, the v710 can replace the player on the other side of your belt.
Highly Programmable - As with most Motorola phones, there is a lot of room to hack settings. The v710 has a secret programming menu (accessible via Menu + 0 + 73887 + *) allowing you to tweak many settings and even enter test mode, which provides - among other things - some GPS diagnostics. If you happen to have a copy of the Motorola PST, you can do a lot of serious programming on the phone.
External LCD - If you thought the mirror on the v600 was tacky, you'll appreciate the external LCD display which allows you to snap pictures of yourself. Since most nerds who would do this will find themselves alone, I find it a very useful feature.


Key Problems
Aside from disabled features, most of the remaining issues with the v710 are unfortunately pretty severe, and quite depressing. With a list price of $519, you'd think that Motorola would have considered some of these issues prior to release. Demand drove the phone out a few months early, but in reality I'd rather have a somewhat working phone than no phone at all - so Kudos to Motorola for at least releasing the phone, but you scored no points on QA whatsoever.
No Syncing: It is impossible to sync this phone over Bluetooth, and you can only sync the phonebook and related data via USB cable (no pictures or music). You cannot upload files to the phone at all (even with Bitpim) except by use of the TransFlash card. Motorola is reportedly working on a fix to allow phonebook syncing over Bluetooth, scheduled for November 2004. Motorola confirmed that this was only an issue because of Verizon's specific requirements (which obviously include no syncing of pictures or music).
Ear Piece Volume: Many complain it's too difficult to hear. I've provided a small hack for this at the end of this article that might help. Motorola has informed me that a firmware and hardware fix will be made to the phone. This should be available to Verizon customers.
Front LCD: No custom graphics are permitted on the front LCD panel, only a few patterns embedded in the device. Normally this wouldn't be too much of an issue, except that: 1. All of the other manufacturers let you do this with their phone, and 2. The patterns Motorola provides make the display very difficult to read, change only with the color scheme, and are unprofessional. In an interview with Motorola, I was informed that the user would not be able to set a custom background in the future. This will be a feature specific only to a newer model of the 710 to be released at a later date.
Poor Quality Camera Photos: You don't need to be worried too much about Verizon's crippled file transfer, because the camera quality is too terrible to want to take pictures with. The 1280x960 resolution delivers indoor qualities poorer than most other 640x480 handsets. Many users complain of extreme camera flicker. Outdoor, the photos are somewhat acceptable but still lacking. To add insult to injury, the external light requires traversing three menus to activate, and must be re-activated for each picture.
TransFlash and Ringtones: In order to use any files on your TransFlash card as a ringtone, you have to copy them to the phone. You can play MP3s from the flashcard and use pictures, but the music must be copied into the phone's tiny 10MB memory in order to use any music as a ringtone.
Voice Dial: No Shortcuts. The Voice dial is great, but I for one hate having to say the full name of the person in my phone book (and yes, I want their full name in my phone book). Motorola needs to add a 'nickname' field so that I can just call out 'Dave' instead of 'David Smith'. I used to be able to do this by training "Dave" on other phones, but since you don't train this phone, I'm stuck using the full name.
Voice Commands: Too Much Talking. In order to voice dial, you have to say three things: "Name Dial", then the person's name, then the entry (Mobile, Home, etc). At the very least, there needs to be a setting to make Name Dial the default voice command.
Speakerphone: Doesn't operate with the flip closed. According to someone at Motorola, this was required under Verizon's contract with them (most likely to push more hands-free sets)
Scratches: Opening the cover appears to cause small vertical scratches near the joint; you must be very careful when opening it, or use a case that restricts it from fully opening.
Battery Life: Mixed results; many claim they experience great battery life (3-4 days on standby), while others experience a mere 6 hours. Part of this depends on your signal strength, but it appears there may be some lemons out there. If you experience poor battery life, take your phone to Verizon and ask for another battery. If that doesn't fix it, get a new phone.


Miscellaneous Bugs in the v710

When the phone is booting, pressing "end" bypasses the PIN security
The screen saver doesn't appear to function at all
Scrolling through photos too quickly will cause the phone to reboot
None of the menus skip to their defaults, which presents problems with large menus (like the ring style)
In the web browser (OpenWave), if you are editing a field and fail to click "Done" (that is, use the directional keys to move out of the field), the browser will freeze up.
After adding "Sound Settings" as a shortcut and using it, the "Back" menu option fails to work, reuqiring use of the red "End" button to exit.
When the brightness setting is set to zero, the phone freezes and the outside LCD turns off, requiring restart of the phone.
When paired with the Acura TL or the Lexus LS, an incoming text message appears as a phone call, but cannot be answered.
When paired with the Lexus LS430, there are no audible ringtone, nor does the vehicle indicate an incoming call.
When paired with the Acura TL, attempting to dial a number using any pauses stored in the TL's phone directory will cause the call to fail and the v710 to reset.
When in "Vibe&Ring" mode, and paired with an Acura TL, the phone does not pass the call through to the vehicle until it starts to ring.
When paired with a bluetooth headset, the phone does not ring (this may be desired functionality, but should have an option to disable)
When the flip is closed, the screen remains on until it times out. Someone mentioned this may be a design flaw, as it appears there's only one backlight powering both displays.
There is no option to leave the backlight on indefinitely (as long as the phone is open). This may be related to the previous problem.
The voice dial feature does not work well with non-English names, and should have a train option, or a Nickname option in the phonebook.
Photo ID pictures are too small, rendering the feature useless.
There is no way to send a call directly to voicemail using the external buttons. You can only silence the incoming call, which will allow it to ring silently until the user eventually gets voicemail.
There is no simultaneous Vibe&Ring function, only Vibe-then-Ring.
The low battery beep plays even when the phone is in silent mode


Motorola Support
Naturally, many customers have taken their grievances to the Motorola Support department to try and show them the err of their ways. I contacted Motorola myself only to find their support quite bizarre. The first thing I noticed is that no matter who you speak with, everyone speaks in the same broken, foreign accent - but they all have American names like "Amy" and "Dave". The whole experience screams "witness protection" or perhaps Motorola has moved their support overseas, but assigned each employee an American name to make their customers feel more comfortable (OK Habib, you're Jake today). I guess that's the best you can do if you're too cheap to hire American workers. Anyhow, their front-line support is pretty much clueless. I recommend requesting the technical support department immediately when you call. They can at least act like they can help you. If you ask about any of the features Verizon has disabled, they'll tell you there is no way to activate them, or that they'll risk losing their job if they tell you. You're SOL.

Morizon?
Now I like Motorola a lot. They make great products. But their one flaw in my opinion seems to be getting in bed with the carrier (or at least being a pushover). The long-lived relationship between the carrier and the manufacturer is one of what some would call a co-monopoly. The manufacturer (Motorola) depends on the carrier to become a sales distribution channel, and allow their phones' ESNs on their network. The carrier, in order to do this, requires that the manufacturer allow them to lock the phone up and disable whatever features they request, only instead of the carrier doing the advertising for the phone, the manufacturer assists in a bait-and-switch routine - advertising the full features of the phone, leaving Verizon with plausible deniability when you find out your phone is crippled. Agreements like these allow the carrier and the manufacturer to both share power over the consumer and lock out competition, but neither corporation has, to date, been accused of any criminal wrongdoing. This same loving carrier is also our only advocate to Motorola - Motorola's one customer. The v710 is a Verizon-owned phone, which means it is Brew-enabled, DRM-retrofitted, and functionally geared to meet Verizon's specific requirements for profitability. The fact that the phone has a few features consumers like is merely a coincidence, and sadly the phone itself lacks many other features that will most likely never be fixed.

"So What?" you may ask. The average unsuspecting consumer doesn't seem to have much of a problem being rounded up in the cattle pen. Verizon sells the phone, so they have the right to control it, right? When was the last time you purchased a laptop computer or a PDA and had IBM or HP tell you what you could or could not do with it on the Internet? The phones of today are computers, and people expect a level of functionality and privacy from them (such as Verizon's network never seeing you on the toilet after your spouse gets a hold of your phone). Nobody likes paying hundreds of dollars for something only to have someone disable features, forcing them to use a public network to transfer personal data. The sad state of the industry is that Verizon has become both service provider and hardware manufacturer, a very dangerous combination for those who expect their carrier to earn an honest living.

Isn't everyone doing this? No. There are plenty of other carriers that don't seem to have the same control issues. Most GSM carriers provide a full set of features in the phones they sell. The Bluetooth-enabled phones offered by Cingular Wireless include a full set of services, run whatever games you like, and even include an email client. Other major carriers including Sprint, T-Mobile, and AT&T provide similar quality phones lacking any significant restrictions. No, the tactics Verizon has shown to use in driving up revenue is only characteristic of the carriers in many third-world or communist countries such as China (China Unicom), Taiwan (Vibo), Argentina (Movicom), and Nicaragua (BellSouth Nicaragua) where the Orwellian philosophy has been nurtured and propagated. And if these carriers get their way, America will become just like them. These customer strong-arming tactics are what originally got Microsoft in trouble, and seems to be the signature of some now-dying carriers such as Cellular One. In America, Verizon's profitability appears to have a short life expectancy.

So is there any way to fix it? This has happened before in our country. A long time ago, the only thing people were legally allowed to plug into their phone jacks were AT&T telephones. The excuses were similar - the safety of the network, to ensure compatibility, etc. It was only after AT&T started charging consumers rental fees for telephone equipment that this ban was struck down by the courts. In today's industry, the carrier doesn't need a law preventing us from using foreign hardware. They're able to block it themselves through technology. Other countries have laws that prevent carriers from locking their phones to any specific network, so you can buy a phone and use it on any compatible network you like. This opens up the market for feature-rich third-party phones and prevents the manufacturers from getting too close to the carrier. This is probably one reason why other countries always have better mobile phone technology than us.

One of the other problems with the industry is that you don't have to meet any specific service requirements to use the Bluetooth logo. In order to use the USB logo, you must send in a prototype and they'll examine its functionality. Establishing requirements for interoperability among device classes would have prevented this ordeal. Device class: Mobile Phone. Interoperability requirements: Hands Free, DUN, OBEX, OPP, Serial. Not doing this has caused many to think twice when they see that Bluetooth logo - a name that can no longer be trusted on its own merit.

Conclusion
The Motorola v710 is like a night at the Ramada Inn. You'll find it has many of the necessities you need, but is a very average experience in the end leaving you only with a sigh of mediocrity whenever you look at your phone. In spite of its shortcomings, the Motorola v710 is a good phone if you're stuck with Verizon for one reason or another. Unfortunately, most of the v710's users won't have the pleasure of being able to enjoy many of its features, thanks to their loving carrier. Moo!

v710 Hacker Reward Program
I have put together a v710 Hacker's pot. To win the pot, you have to provide us with a way to enable working OBEX and OPP Bluetooth profiles on the Verizon v710 (this includes providing any software that may be necessary). See the official site for more information.

What else you can do
I'm not generally a politically motivated person, but if you agree that it is wrong for carriers to abuse consumers, I encourage you to read a letter I have written to my representative, and if you agree with the solution, send a copy to your own representative. Many other countries have outlawed the practice of locking phones, or blacklisting ESNs. If similar legislation were passed in the US, this kind of crap wouldn't happen very often.


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v710 Volume Hack
This reportedly only works on some v710 handsets. There seem to be at least two different software revisions going around sharing the same version number.
Enter the "Opcode Menu" by pressing: MENU 048263 * (you'll have to enter it rather quickly).
Enter 54* and press OK. This will suspend the phone and dim the backlight.
Press the external camera button to turn the backlight back on. You will see "SUCCESS". Press BACK.
Enter 5*0*15 and press OK. This will max out the system volume of the handset. You can use any number from 0-15 as the third digit, but even at level 15, the phone could be louder.
You should see SUCCESS. Press BACK.
Press CANCEL to exit the Opcode Menu


All Website Content © 2004 Jonathan A. Zdziarski. All Rights Reserved.

Reproduction prohibited without permission



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Verizon has a 15 day return policy. Seems to me that you have two choices:

1. Return the phone, or
2. Sue for fraud - essentially, this is fraud in the inducement and, most probably your remedy would be - rescission.

So, it seems to me that you should return the phone and avoid having to deal with lawyers such as me.

By the way, you are correct about Verizon - but you can add Motorola to the list and all those Motorola employees in Costa Rica and Argentina named "Amy" and "Mark" and "Bob"

 

Oh, you don't appear to be stupid. I believe that you and many others were cheated. Let's see if Verizon and Motorola step up to the plate and fix the problem.

My V710 seems to work fine and I can use the phone list from the phone while driving.