Using AT&T w580i Go phone in Europe

[7lands]

Hello, I have just purchased a AT&T w580i Go Phone. I assume right now it is locked and I know it is AT&T branded. I will be traveling to Germany, Spain, Portugal and Morocco this summer. I plan on unlocking the phone after getting full understanding of what to do so I can be sure I don't brick my new phone. After unlocking I will purchase a SIM on arrival in each country to reduce my airtime expenses by avoiding roaming charges. I note that there are different files for European and US phones. What files should I be using to set my phone up? Are there any considerations I should be aware of in my plans to use this phone in Europe and Morocco? Thanks.

[bjornen902]

Hi 7lands,

As long as you have unlocked the sim on your phone, you will be able to use any vendors simcards. The different FS firmwares are language specific for the languages you wish your phone to be able to display. It doesnt care what country you are in. Most FS have English as a choice. Yesterday I unlocked and debranded a AT&T w580i sucessfully and tested it with a Vodaphone SIM from the Netherlands that roamed to T-Mobile here in the states. It all works great, and the tools/firmware are all here.

* "Unlocked" = Removing the SIM lock that prevents you from using anything other than AT&T/Cingular SIM cards. Inserting a different carries SIM card into a locked phone will give you a errormessage on startup that says "Insert Correct SIM".

* "Debranded" = Overwrite the AT&T software in your phone to restore it to the Sony Ericsson generic software. Good and bad to do this, you may loose some special AT&T applications that you may like, but it also gives you other softwares and less restrictions to ringtones, etc. I would recommend going with the Sony Ericsson software and debrand the phone.

Follow the instructions in this thread to unlock your phone: http://www.topsony.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6329

Good luck, and have fun in Europe!

Bjorn

[BadBoyTC]

I think you need to debrand the phone before patch unlock the phone.

So here tutorial on how to use XS++ and flash the phone:XS++ 3.1 Guide-Flashing,Customizing,Recovering - Top Sony Forums

[Beep88]

If the MAIN is AT&T branded, you will need to use a non-AT&T MAIN file.

If you want North American firmware, you want

W580_R8BE001_MAIN_NAM_1_LA_RED52
W580_R8BE001_FS_AMERICA_1_RED52
HB1-06_Gen_CDA102568_15_R8A_GENERIC_AMERICA_1

European:
W580_R8BE001_MAIN_GENERIC_LA_RED52
W580_R8BE001_FS_EUROPE_?_RED52 (depending on what languages you want, English is standard on all)
HB1-06_Gen_CDA102568_10_R8A_GENERIC_EUROPE_?

[simox]

Guys, no need to debrand the phone, because you can patch unlock the branded one too.

[gohaha30]

Guys, no need to debrand the phone, because you can patch unlock the branded one too.

How? no one has the branded firmware.